South Africa has officially transferred the G20 presidency to the United States during a low-key ceremony held at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) on Tuesday. The understated handover followed a mutual decision by both governments to avoid a high-profile event.
Dirco had indicated ahead of the ceremony that the transfer would be conducted between senior officials rather than top political leaders. This followed diplomatic tensions over the level of representation the US intended to send to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg.
The disagreement centred on Washington’s plan to delegate its embassy’s chargé d’affaires. South Africa maintained that while the US was welcome to attend the summit, the handover of the presidency gavel required a representative of appropriate seniority.
Pretoria argued that only a head of state, a presidentially appointed special envoy, or a minister would be suitable to receive the gavel from President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Government officials clarified that the US chargé d’affaires remained free to participate in the summit’s general proceedings, but would not be permitted to accept the presidency on behalf of President Donald Trump.
As a result, South Africa offered to conduct the handover outside the summit venue, either at Dirco or any suitable location within the country.
By the weekend, the Presidency confirmed that the US would not send any representatives to the summit at all. The decision followed concerns that allowing a junior diplomat to assume the presidency role would breach protocol.
A chargé d’affaires is traditionally a temporary or lower-ranking head of mission appointed when no ambassador is in place. They do not present credentials to the host nation’s head of state and are not typically considered senior enough for high-level ceremonial duties.
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