South Africa's Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-largest party in the country's governing coalition, has demoted its former longtime leader John Steenhuisen from his position as agriculture minister, replacing him with a farmer-politician and assigning Steenhuisen the lesser role of deputy minister of trade, industry and competition. The move was requested by DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, who took over from Steenhuisen in April, and requires formal approval from President Cyril Ramaphosa — who is widely expected to grant it.

The reshuffle follows what the DA described as a "careful assessment" of the party's representation in the coalition government, which was formed after the African National Congress (ANC) lost its 30-year parliamentary majority in the 2024 general elections. The DA holds six of the cabinet's positions, compared to 20 for the ANC, and several DA members serve as deputy ministers. Steenhuisen will be succeeded in the agriculture portfolio by Willie Aucamp, a farmer by background, who Hill-Lewis said would be given an "immediate mandate to resolve on-going legal proceedings" related to an ongoing foot-and-mouth disease outbreak — the handling of which was widely seen as the central reason for Steenhuisen's downfall. Other changes announced include David Maynier as environment minister and Yusuf Cassim as deputy minister of higher education and training.

Steenhuisen, 50, has been a dominant figure in the DA since 2014, rising to lead the pro-business, liberal party in 2019. He was at the helm when the DA entered coalition with its longtime rival, the ANC, and made international headlines last year when he helped steady the South African delegation during a tense White House confrontation with US President Donald Trump over disputed claims of a white genocide in South Africa. But his standing within the party had been eroding. He faced criticism over his management of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, which alienated key farming constituencies, and came under scrutiny over a financial scandal that ultimately led him not to contest a third term as party leader.

Political analyst Khanyi Magubane said the demotion was not surprising, noting that Steenhuisen's close working relationship with the ANC had strained ties with elements of the DA, and that the party needed to be seen as responsive to farmers' concerns — particularly with local government elections scheduled for November. Aucamp's appointment as agriculture minister, she suggested, was a deliberate signal to rural and farming communities. "The DA would want to come across as hearing the cries of farmers," she said. Hill-Lewis had signalled as much when he became party leader, stating publicly that "no-one is entitled to any office or position" and that he would review the performance of DA appointees — though the speed of the changes has nonetheless caught observers off guard.

Founded in 2000 as a merger of three mostly white parties, the DA has long struggled to shed its white, middle-class image and broaden its appeal to black voters while maintaining its free-market, liberal identity. The November local elections will be an early test of whether the coalition arrangement — and the reshuffle — strengthens or complicates that effort.