Organisations need to ensure that the appropriate people are in place with the required values, skills and competencies that are necessary to bring about change and accomplish goals to drive organisational strategy forward. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of organisational strategy, recruitment strategy and organisational culture on succession planning in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in South Africa. The study is located within a quantitative paradigm and data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The target population comprised employees (from entry level to executive levels) of DIRCO based in the Gauteng province as well as 127 South African Embassies and Consulates in foreign countries. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the sample composition and participants' perception of succession planning at DIRCO. Furthermore, confirmatory f