By Abiola Olawale
The conclusion of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg was overshadowed by a diplomatic rift, as South Africa rejected a United States government proposal for a Chargé d’Affaires to accept the ceremonial handover of the rotating G20 presidency.
This dramatic escalation follows the US decision to rule out “official” participation in the summit, deepening tensions between the two nations.
South Africa, which hosted the first-ever G20 Summit on the African continent, deemed the offer to send a junior embassy official, acting Ambassador Marc Dillard, an insult and a breach of diplomatic protocol.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government stood firm, insisting that the handover of the G20 presidency, which passes to the United States for the 2026 summit, must be conducted at the level of a Head of State or a ministerially designated official.
South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola explicitly stated, “The President will not be handing over to a junior embassy official,” highlighting the established tradition of the G20.
Also, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, confirmed that the South African President will not hand over the G20 Summit to a Chargé d’Affaires after the US reiterated that it would not attend the Summit in Johannesburg in an official capacity.
This comes after the White House had earlier released a press statement saying its chargé ’d’affaires in Pretoria would attend the declaration handover ceremony as a formality at the end of the G20 Summit this weekend.
A chargé d’affaires was the title of a chief of mission, ranking below an ambassador or a minister. According to the National Museum of American Diplomacy, it is still used as the title of the head of a US mission where the US and another nation do not have full diplomatic relations.
“The ambassador or the representative of the embassy in South Africa is simply there to recognise that the United States will be the host of the G20; they are receiving that send-off at the end of the event, they are not there to participate in official talks,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
The diplomatic standoff comes after the administration of US President Donald Trump announced a decision to boycott the G20 summit entirely. Trump cited allegations that the South African government is persecuting the country’s white Afrikaner minority as the reason for the no-show.
However, Ramaphosa’s government has vehemently rejected these claims as “false” and “unsubstantiated.”
