Frederik Willem de Klerk

Encyclopedia : F : FR : FRE : Frederik Willem de Klerk

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Frederik Willem de Klerk (born March 18, 1936) was the last State President of Apartheid South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994. De Klerk was also leader of the National Party (which later became the New National Party) from February 1989 to September 1997.

De Klerk is best known for agreeing to end apartheid, South Africa's racial segregation policy, and supporting the transformation of South Africa into a democracy by entering into the negotiations that resulted in all citizens, including the country's black majority, having equal voting and other rights. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela in 1993 for his role in the ending of apartheid.

He was the Deputy President of South Africa during the presidency of Nelson Mandela until 1996. In 1997, he retired from politics.

Early career

Born in Johannesburg, de Klerk is the son of former Senator Jan de Klerk and a nephew of J.G. Strijdom (Prime Minister from 1954–58). After completing high school in Krugersdorp, de Klerk graduated in 1958 from the Potchefstroom University with BA and LLB degrees (the latter cum laude). In 1969 he married Marike Willemse, with whom he had two sons and a daughter.

"F.W.", as he became popularly known, was first elected to the South African Parliament in 1969 as the member for Vereeniging, and entered the cabinet in 1978. He became Transvaal provincial National Party leader in 1982. After a long political career and with a very conservative reputation, in 1989 he placed himself at the head of verligte ("enlightened") forces within the governing party, with the result that he was elected head of the National Party in February 1989, and finally State President in September 1989 to replace then president P.W. Botha when the latter was forced to step down after a stroke.

Ending apartheid

Frederik Willem de Klerk was born in Johannesburg on March 18, 1936. He is the son of Senator Jan de Klerk, a leading politician, who became minister in the South African government. His brother Willem is a liberal newspaperman and one of the founders of the Democratic Party.

F.W. de Klerk graduated with a law degree from Potchefstroom University in 1958 and then practiced law in Vereeniging in the Transvaal. In 1969, he married Marike Willemse, with whom he has two sons and a daughter. De Klerk was offered a professorship of administrative law at Potchefstroom in 1972 but he declined the post because he had been elected to Parliament as National Party member for Vereeniging at the time.

In 1978, F.W. de Klerk was appointed Minister of Posts and Telecommunications and Social Welfare and Pensions by Prime Minister Vorster. Under Prime Minister P.W. Botha, he held a succession of ministerial posts, including Posts and Telecommunications and Sports and Recreation (1978-1979), Mines, Energy and Environmental Planning (1979-1980), Mineral and Energy Affairs (1980-1982), Internal Affairs (1982-1985), and National Education and Planning (1984-1989). In 1985, he became chairman of the Minister's Council in the House of Assembly. On December 1, 1986, he became the leader of the House of Assembly.

As Minister of National Education, F.W. de Klerk was a supporter of segregated universities, and as a leader of the National Party in Transvaal, he was not known to advocate reform. In February 1989, de Klerk was elected leader of the National Party and in September 1989 he was elected State President.

In his first speech after assuming the party leadership he called for a nonracist South Africa and for negotiations about the country's future. He lifted the ban on the ANC and released Nelson Mandela. He brought apartheid to an end and opened the way for the drafting of a new constitution for the country based on the principle of one person, one vote.

Later life

In 1998, de Klerk and his wife of 38 years, Marike, were divorced following the discovery of his affair with Elita Georgiades , then the wife of Tony Georgiades, a Greek shipping tycoon who had allegedly given de Klerk and the NP financial support. Soon after his divorce, de Klerk and Georgiades were married. This turn of events scandalised conservative South African opinion. Then, in 2001, the country was shocked by the violent death of his ex-wife, apparently at the hands of a young security guard during the course of a robbery.

In 2004, de Klerk announced that he was quitting the New National Party and seeking a new political home after it was announced that the NNP would merge with the ruling ANC.

In 2006, he underwent surgery for a malignant tumour in his colon, discovered after an examination on 3 June. His condition deteriorated sharply, and he underwent a second operation after developing respiratory problems. On 13 June it was announced that he was to undergo a tracheotomy. He is currently in a stable condition in the intensive care unit of the Panorama Medi-Clinic, a private hospital.

De Klerk is currently serving as the chairman of the pro-peace FW de Klerk Foundation. FW De Klerk is an Honorary Patron of the University Philosophical Society.

The de Klerk Name

The name 'de Klerk' (literally meaning "the clerk") is derived from Le Clerc / Le Clercq / De Clercq and is of French Huguenot origin , as are a great number of other Afrikaans surnames, reflecting the large number of French Huguenot refugees who settled in the Cape beginning in the seventeenth century as refugees escaping religious persecution.

References

External links

• [The FW de Klerk Foundation]
• [Interview at Oxford Union, 2005]
• [Video of F.W. de Klerk's November 2005 visit to Richmond Hill High School on Google Video]

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