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Former President of South Africa, FW de Klerk.
Apartheid South Africa was at a crossroads when De Klerk took over from PW Botha; the economy was on the precipice, there was internal unrest, international isolation and sanctions, border wars, and even otherwise well-disposed Western governments demanding an end to apartheid. Afterwards, many said De Klerk had no choice. Well, the same could be said of Iraq’s Saddam Hussain and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, who continued to seek military solutions when they were cornered.
I was never under the impression that De Klerk envisioned the events of April 27 1994 on February 2 1990. Yet there he was, deputy president to Nelson Mandela along with Thabo Mbeki. The government of national unity was key to peace in the immediate aftermath of the transition and the “rainbow nation” was born.In 1996, however, De Klerk resigned as deputy president and, against the wishes of his NP cabinet colleagues, withdrew the National Party from government.
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