Frederik Willem de Klerk

Frederik Willem de Klerk (born March 18, 1936) was the last State President of South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994. The last white man to lead the country, he was president at the end of apartheid. De Klerk was also leader of the National Party (which later became the New National Party) from February 1989 to September 1997.

Ending apartheid

:Main article: Apartheid.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

De Klerk accepted that apartheid could not survive and that concessions would need to be made with, at best, power sharing between black and white people. This was for two reasons: a) increasingly stringent international sanctions, driven by the United Nations, were greatly stifling the South African economy, and b) an increasing number of powerful white owners were becoming disillusioned with apartheid since i) too many black labourers lacked the education required to do their jobs because of apartheid education, and ii) the geographic apartheid reduced access of competent black labourers. In his opening address to parliament on 2 February 1990 he legalised the ANC, PAC and Communist Party, ordered the release of many political prisoners, reduced emergency detentions to six months and suspended the death sentence. These actions paved the way for the negotiations which led to the end of apartheid and white minority rule. On 10 February of that year, de Klerk also announced that Nelson Mandela would be released the next day. The Government and the ANC began talks in May 1990; by June the state of emergency had been lifted and the ANC had agreed to a ceasefire. In 1991 the Acts which restricted land ownership, specified separate living areas and classified people by race were all repealed. South Africa had taken its first real steps towards becoming a multiracial society. De Klerk and Mandela were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for their work for the peaceful dismantling of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.

Related Topics:
United Nations - 2 February - 1990 - ANC - 10 February - Nelson Mandela - Nobel Peace Prize - 1993

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

De Klerk's reforms led many pro-apartheid supporters to leave the National Party and join the Conservative Party, which was against many of the reforms. It also provoked a resurgence of opposition from the white far-right Afrikaner Resistance Movement. Violence also continued between Inkatha and the ANC fuelled by the revelation that the government had given economic and military aid to Inkatha.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In April 1994 racially inclusive elections were held for the first time ever. De Klerk ran a largely ceremonial and uncompetitive presidential campaign against Mandela, in which Mandela was soundly elected. He went on to serve for two years as deputy president in Nelson Mandela's government, but announced his retirement from politics in August 1997 in order to dissociate the National Party from the policies he had once implemented.

Related Topics:
1994 - Nelson Mandela - 1997

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is unclear whether he chose to end apartheid because he believed it to be wrong, or because he was giving in to domestic and international pressure.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~