F. W. de Klerk obit

 

FW de Klerk: The Man Who Ended Apartheid, Freed Mandela and Honored His Country

Former South African president recorded video message before death at the age of 85

He was not on the list.

Frederik Willem (FW) de Klerk was a highly successful South African lawyer who could have spent his days happily holed up in a leather bound law library, but when his country was perched on the brink of anarchy, he answered the call. In 1989, de Klerk was elected president of South Africa.

Among his first instructions to his cabinet was to pave the way for a new vision which would end the policy of Apartheid, a separation of civil society by race.

The ruling white majority had held power for decades. Convincing them to turn over the reigns to a constitutional majority in which they would emerge as a minority was a formidable challenge. That he was able to convince his electorate after only a short time in the highest office is just one astounding chapter of his story.

How de Klerk managed that process, and in the scope of his vision, freed Nelson Mandela from 27 years imprisonment and transformed South Africa into a constitutional democracy, is his legacy. In our interview, he would only acknowledge, “I didn’t do it myself. I just played a role.” His successor as President, Nelson Mandela, made it clear that without de Klerk it could not have happened.

FW de Klerk highlights:

 

    1989: Elected president of South Africa

    1990: (after 4 months in office) Initiates the end of Apartheid and releases Nelson Mandela from prison

    1993: de Klerk and Mandela jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

    1994: Elected deputy president under Nelson Mandela

    1995: South African constitution is drafted

    1996: President Nelson Mandela signs the constitution

    1997 FW de Klerk retires from politics

 

My interview with FW de Klerk:

Jeff Cunningham: Before we get into the subject of your fascinating career as president of South Africa, the man who dismantled apartheid, and your relationship with Nelson Mandela, tell me what brings you to the island of Malta?

FW de Klerk: 12 years ago, I started the Global Leadership Foundation. We’re holding our annual meeting this year in Malta. This foundation now has 40, members, all former prime ministers, presidents, cabinet ministers, senior diplomats. All of us have good experience of governance. None of us hold political office, but we have a store of experience and knowledge gained from our years in government. We learned from our own mistakes.

With all the world’s problems, I imagine the Global Leadership Foundation has more business than it can handle?

Actually, we have to knock on the right doors, and say, “We think you can benefit by sitting down for a weekend with us, and working through your problems,” before we get an invitation. We don’t get telephone calls saying, “please come and give me advice.” That’s not how it works.