On Thursday, February 15 he was elected unopposed as the fifth democratic President of South Africa following Jacob Zuma's resignation Wednesday night.
Cyril Ramaphosa has been sworn in as president of the Republic of South Africa.
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng presided over the election in Parliament.
The president took the oath of office at Tuynhuy, in Cape Town.
"I devote myself to the well-being of the Republic and all of its people, so help me God."
Ramaphosa, in brief remarks to Parliament ahead of his first State of the Nation Address this evening, said he would work hard "not to disappoint the people of South Africa".
"The issues that you have raised, issues that have to do with corruption, issues of how we can straighten out our state-owned enterprises and how we deal with state capture (influence-peddling) are issues that are on our radar screen," he said.
The Rand, which had lost ground whenever Zuma ran into political turbulence, soared to a near three-year high against the dollar on word of Zuma's resignation.
South Africa's main stock market index jumped nearly 4% and headed for its biggest one-day gain in more than two years as investors hailed Zuma's exit after nine years in office rife with allegations of ‘sleaze and mismanagement’.
Ratings agency Moody's said it was closely monitoring developments in South Africa, focusing on the policy implications of Zuma's political demise.
The S&P Global agency said South Africa's sovereign credit ratings and outlook will not be immediately affected by the change of the country's leadership.
UPHILL CHALLENGE
Ramaphosa, who will be president until elections next year, faces an uphill battle to earn back public and investor support.
But his stated commitment to boosting growth and stamping out graft has gone down well with foreign investors and ANC members who felt Zuma's handling of the economy could seriously damage the party in the 2019 election.
South Africa needs faster economic growth if it is to reduce high unemployment - currently at 27% - and alleviate persistent, widespread poverty that aggravates inequality and stokes instability.
The economy, Africa's most advanced, remains largely under the control of whites who held power under apartheid.
The 75-year-old Zuma said in a 30-minute farewell address to the nation, on Wednesday night, he disagreed with the way the ANC had thrust him toward an early exit after Ramaphosa replaced him as party president, but would accept its orders.
"Zuma did the right thing to resign. Yes, let's see what Ramaphosa is having for us, thank you," said Hlengiwe Mswazi, an office worker in the capital Pretoria.
Tshepo Kgobane, also in Pretoria, said: "So it is a good thing that he resigned. We must have a party, a big party, we must throw a party because he resigned. We wanted to see that."
Zuma bowed out hours after police raided the luxury home of the Gupta family, the Indian-born billionaire allies of the former president, who have been at the center of corruption accusations against Zuma and his circle for years.
-Source IOL
Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as President of the Republic of South Africa yesterday afternoon, (Thursday 15 February).
Former President of South Africa Jacob Zuma.