F.W. de Klerk

POLITICIAN · SOUTH AFRICAN · 1936-2021

'History has placed a tremendous responsibility on the shoulders of this country's leadership, namely the responsibility of moving our country away from the current course of conflict and confrontation.. The hope of millions of South Africans is fixed on us. The future of southern Africa depends on us. We dare not waver or fail.'

F.W. de Klerk in a speech to Parliament, 2 February 1990

'Mr de Klerk is a man of integrity.'

Nelson Mandela on 11 February 1990, the day of his release from prison

Frederik Willem ('F.W.') de Klerk's ancestors came to South Africa in 1668. One of them, Theunis Christiaan de Klerk, was hanged by the British for insurrection against them in 1815.

F.W. was born in 1936. In 1948, the National Party won the election (on a whites-only ballot) on the platform of apartheid: the system of separateness or segregation whereby certain areas were reserved for whites, others for Asians and blacks. F.W. went to Potchefstroom University in 1954 to study law. The then President of South Africa, Dr Verwoerd, had recently instigated a policy of home-rule for the homelands, with a view to granting them full independence. This was a policy which F.W. supported. He became the leader of the ASB (the Afrikaans Student Union). He gained an Abe Bailey scholarship, which enabled him to travel to England and to take part in debates at Oxford and Cambridge. In 1959, he married Marike, whom he had met at university. She was the top female student of her year.

In 1972, F.W. de Klerk was elected to Parliament, and served under P.W. Botha. In 1982, there was a split between the National Party and what was to become the (South African) Conservative Party, led by Dr Treurnicht. The clash took place on 26 February 1982 in the Transvaal, and F.W. beat Dr Treurnicht by 172 votes to 36 to become the leader of the National Party in the Transvaal.

Shortly afterwards, a new constitution was established which led to a Tricameral Parliament, with three chambers: one for the whites, one for the coloureds and one for the Indians (none for the blacks). In 1986, F.W. became Minister for Education, and this involved discussions with the coloureds and the Indians. Gradually F.W. came to believe that there could be no solution to the problems of South Africa without the removal of all forms of racial discrimination.

At that time, the United Democratic Front, an umbrella organisation of those opposed to apartheid (including the banned African National Congress, the ANC), instigated a policy of total onslaught against the state. The intention was to make the country ungovernable. There was a low-intensity war on the borders of Namibia and southern Angola, where the South Africa Defence Force was brought into conflict with forces from Cuba and Russia. In all 284 black South Africans were killed, 172 by 'necklaces', where a tyre is put round the neck of the victim, filled with petrol and set on fire. The State Security Council authorised unconventional methods against the ANC, including torture and murder. F.W. said that he was unaware of this. Botha declared a state of emergency.

In 1986, a Special Cabinet Committee recommended a fundamental shift away from apartheid in favour of a one-person, one-vote system of government. This was put to the (white) electorate in an election in 1987, which was won by the National Party.

From the election onwards, P.W. Botha became increasingly erratic, losing his temper during parliamentary sessions. He alienated Reverend Hendrickse, the leader of the coloured Ministers' Council, who then resigned from the cabinet. In January 1989, Botha suffered a stroke. Shortly afterwards, he resigned as leader of the National Party, but not as State President. F.W. stood to take over as leader and won against Barend du Plessis by 69 votes to 61 in the final round. On 6 September 1989, Botha was persuaded to stand down as State President and F.W. de Klerk was elected.

On 10 October 1989, F.W. ordered the release of several high-profile political prisoners, including Walter Sisulu. He permitted a march of 70,000 people. In November 1989 came the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the effective break-up of the Soviet Union. After that, the Soviet Union's influence in Southern Africa was greatly reduced, but at the same time, the call for democracy and the end to apartheid increased.

On 13 December 1989, F.W. made his first visit to Nelson Mandela. They spoke for some three hours and sized each other up. Mandela by that time had been in prison for 27 years and was already 71. The meeting was friendly, and they parted with a promise from F.W. that they would meet again soon and would discuss Mandela's release.

On 2 February 1990, F.W. de Klerk made his famous landmark speech to Parliament. In it, he indicated that Nelson Mandela would be released 'soon'. He announced the unbanning of the ANC, the South Africa Communist Party and the Pan-African Congress. He released more political prisoners. He committed to lifting the state of emergency which Botha had imposed. He announced the repeal of the Separate Amenities Act (whereby certain amenities, such as beaches, buses and lavatories, had been reserved for whites). And he introduced a moratorium on the death penalty.

The speech came as a surprise to both South Africans and the international community. It was widely welcomed by all, except for the Conservative Party, which campaigned for the retention of apartheid.

One week later, on 9 February 1990, F.W. had a further meeting with Nelson Mandela, at which it was agreed that Mandela would be released on 11 February. And that was when he did in fact walk free. At a speech at City Hall, Mandela committed the ANC to continue the armed struggle and urged the international community not to lift sanctions yet. This was disappointing from F.W.'s viewpoint, but perhaps understandable.

On 21 March, F.W. declared the independence of Namibia.

On 2 May, there took place the first round of negotiations between the government and the ANC. The latter promised: 'Efficient channels of communication will be established . in order to curb violence.'

F.W. set out on a tour of Europe, which was successful. Margaret Thatcher received him 'in the most cordial manner'. He wrote in his autobiography: 'She had endured vicious personal attacks from Commonwealth Prime Ministers because of her insistence . in maintaining a balanced approach to the complex problems of South Africa.'

On 7 June, the state of emergency was lifted, except in Natal. A further 48 ANC prisoners were freed.

On 6 August, by the Pretoria Minute, the government committed to further constitutional talks 'soon'.

By the end of 1990, the National Party was changed to a non-racial party. F.W. said that one of his regrets was that he did not change its name at the same time.

On 12 February 1991, at Malan airport, at talks with the government, the ANC agreed to renounce violence, and it was agreed that all political parties should take part in peace talks. This was known as the D.F. Malan Accord. Further peace talks took place in June.

In July de Klerk discovered that the government had been assisting the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) against the ANC. He appointed a Ministers' Committee which severely curtailed the operation of secret projects. On 30 July 1991, the Goldstone Commission investigated the violence that was going on. Some of it had been instigated by the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) under Eugene Terre-Blanche.

On 9 August, F.W. was due to address the National Party in Transvaal. Terre-Blanche advised him to stay away, but F.W. could not agree to a no-go area in one of the main regions of the country. He could not reach by car the place where he was due to speak, so he took a helicopter to get in. There were approximately 2,000 police and the same number of AWB supporters, many of them armed. They wanted to break through the police lines, but were not successful. The AWB fired on two minibuses. The police returned fire, killing one person and wounding another, who died later. A third was killed by the minibus.

On 14 September, the ANC, IFP and government managed to reach agreement on the terms of a Peace Accord, the intention of which was to establish a Committee of Inquiry to investigate and prevent public violence. F.W. had taken Mandela to task a few days before the signing of the Accord to complain about the level of violence and what he regarded as breaches of the Malan Accord. Mandela gave assurances that the alleged breaches would be investigated, and the agreement was signed.

Meanwhile, in January 1991, CODESA I (Convention for a Democratic South Africa) had been set up to try and agree a new constitution for the new government. The ANC wanted the government to hand over to a non-elected multi-party government. De Klerk wanted a two-stage process: a new constitution to be agreed by CODESA and then a fully elected multi-racial Parliament. At the beginning of the negotiations, having warned Mandela that he would do so,...