TOPLINE Frederik Willem de Klerk, the last leader of South Africa’s apartheid government who oversaw his country’s transition away from white minority rule, died at the age of 85 on Thursday.
KEY FACTS
The former South African president died after a battle with a form of lung cancer, the FW de Klerk Foundation announced in a statement.
A controversial figure in South African history, de Klerk had previously strongly defended racist apartheid policies before taking office as president in 1989.
However, after taking office, the Afrikaner leader backed the removal of apartheid policies—including the ban on opposition political parties and the release of political prisoners like Nelson Mandela.
De Klerk would eventually go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Nelson Mandela.
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CRUCIAL QUOTE
In his autobiography “A Long Walk to Freedom,” Mandela—South Africa’s first black president—described his predecessor as a pragmatist “who saw change as necessary and inevitable. He added: “Although I would not take back my criticisms, I would say that he had made a genuine and indispensable contribution to the peace process.”
KEY BACKGROUND
Despite overseeing the end of apartheid, de Klerk remained a deeply controversial figure in South Africa. He was accused by many of failing to stop the violence faced by Black South Africans during his time in power. According to the New York Times, Herman J. Cohen, president George H.W. Bush’s top Africa advisor, recognized that de Klerk wasn’t morally opposed to apartheid but “had decided it wasn’t going to work.” By the time he took office as president, apartheid policies had made South Africa an international pariah, which prompted de Klerk to argue that the country needed to take a new path. Unlike several other apartheid-era leaders, however, de Klerk later publicly apologized for apartheid, noting that he hoped the “victims of our policies will find it in their hearts to forgive us.”
FURTHER READING
South Africa’s last apartheid president F. W. de Klerk dies (Associated Press)
F.W. de Klerk, Former South African President Who Dismantled Apartheid, Dies at 85 (New York Times)
F.W. de Klerk, South African President Who Helped End Apartheid, Dies at 85 (Wall Street Journal)
By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff
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