South Africa–United States relations a joint session of Congress. In September, de Klerk visited Washington, the first official state visit by a South African leader. Mandela was subsequently elected President of South Africa, and U.S. Vice President Al Gore and First Lady Hillary Clinton attended his inauguration in Pretoria in May 1994. In October of that year, Mandela returned to Washington for a state dinner hosted by U.S. President Bill Clinton. President Clinton visited South Africa in March 1998, marking the first time a sitting U.S. president visited the country. Since Clinton's visit, two of his successors have visited the country: President George W.
Brazil–South Africa relations strong relationship with the apartheid-era government, and instead developed ties with the allies of such anti-apartheid organizations such as ANC and SWAPO. After South Africa held its first multiracial elections in 1994, president Fernando Henrique Cardoso became the first Brazilian head of state to visit South Africa in 1996. Relations developed quickly between the two countries, especially after the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president in 2002. Lula's government has developed strong ties with Thabo Mbeki's government in South Africa, particular in the areas of AIDS/HIV, fair trade, reform in the United Nations Security Council, land reform,