Breaking, Former South African President FW de Klerk Dies At 85

Former South African President FW de Klerk passes away at 85.

He was the Head of State between September 1989 and May 1994.

A statement from the former president’s FW de Klerk Foundation on Thursday said that he died peacefully at his home in Cape Town following his struggle against mesothelioma – a cancer that affects the lining of the lungs.

The foundation also released a video recording dubbed De Klerk’s “final message” in which he talks about apartheid.

“Let me today, in the last message repeat: I, without qualification, apologise for the pain and the hurt, and the indignity, and the damage, to black, brown and Indians in South Africa,” he says.
The former president was born in March 1936 in Johannesburg, into a line of Afrikaner National Party politicians.

He worked as a lawyer and served in a series of ministerial posts before taking over from PW Botha as the head of the National Party in February 1989, and months later becoming president.

In a famous speech to parliament the following year, he announced that he was removing the ban on parties that included Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC).

He also announced that Mandela would be released from prison after 27 years.

His actions helped bring an end to apartheid-era South Africa, and he became one of the country’s two deputy presidents after the multi-party elections in 1994 that saw Mandela become president.

He retired from politics in 1997, saying: “I am resigning because I am convinced it is in the best interest of the party and the country.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sent condolences to De Klerk’s wife and children, and said the former leader’s death “should inspire all of us to reflect on the birth of our democracy”.
He was a key figure in South Africa’s transition to democracy as he released and shared the Peace prize the anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, who succeeded him as President.
Source- BBC