IN PICTURES: Key moments of FW de Klerk’s life
Former president FW de Klerk died at the age of 85 on Thursday
Former president FW de Klerk died at the age of 85 on Thursday.
Referred to as “the last white ruler of SA”, De Klerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 with Nelson Mandela “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic SA”.
The process started with negotiations between the then government, including De Klerk’s predecessor and the ANC. This eventually led to the release of ANC leaders from prison, which would later include Mandela.
The historic “Groote Schuur Minute” (below) was the signing of a document between Mandela, then president of the ANC and the state president De Klerk at Tuinhuis on May 4 1990, which stood as a commitment between the parties to resolve ongoing violence and to commit to peaceful negotiations.