Government of KwaZulu-Natal

The Government of KwaZulu-Natal (IsiZulu: uHulumeni waKwaZulu-Natal) is the subnational government of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The politics of the province take place in the framework of a constitutional monarchy and liberal multi-party parliamentary democracy within a constitutional republic whereby the King of the Zulu Nation is the ceremonial figurehead of an elected government. The provincial government comprises the second sphere of government of South Africa and consists of three branches with checks and balances between them as follows:

• Executive: Premier of KwaZulu-Natal who appoints and chairs the Executive Council of KwaZulu-Natal
• Legislature: The unicameral KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature elected by proportional representation which elects the Premier
• Judiciary: KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court of South Africa appointed by the President of South Africa on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission

KwaZulu-Natal traces its history to the Zulu Kingdom. The Zulu Kingdom was under the suzerainty of the Mthethwa Empire in the early 19th-century. Under King Shaka, the Mthethwa Empire was subsumed into the Zulu Kingdom in 1817. Following the Battle of Blood River, the Zulu Kingdom ceded territory to the Voortrekkers who formed the Natalia Republic therefrom in 1839. The Natalia Republic was conquered by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1843 and incorporated into the British Empire as the Natal Colony. The New Republic was formed from territory ceded by the Zulu Kingdom under King Dinuzulu to the Boers in 1884. The Zulu Kingdom became a British protectorate in 1887. The New Republic was annexed by the South African Republic in 1888. The Zulu Kingdom was annexed by the Natal Colony in 1897.

The Natal Colony became part of the Union of South Africa in 1910 as the Natal Province. The Zulu Territorial Authority was formed in 1970 from which the KwaZulu homeland was formed in 1977. The land of the KwaZulu homeland was vested in the Ingonyama Trust of which the Zulu King was the trustee in 1994. KwaZulu and the Natal Province were combined to form the KwaZulu-Natal province shortly afterwards and its government was finalised with the passing of the Constitution of South Africa in 1996. Although recognised as a paramount traditional leader of the Zulu people with a statutory relationship with the Natal and then KZN government since the Amakhosi and Iziphakanyiswa Act of 1990, the Zulu King was formally recognised as the monarch of the reunited province in 2005 with the passing of the KwaZulu-Natal Traditional Leadership and Governance Act.