'He was a careful pragmatist': The many faces of FW de Klerk
Steeped in the politics of the National Party from birth, he ultimately dissolved the basis of its rule and quietly disappeared from the political scene towards the end of his life
14 November 2021 - 00:02
Former South African president FW de Klerk, who has died at his home in Fresnaye, Cape Town, at the age of 85, was a hardcore enforcer of apartheid until he freed Nelson Mandela and unbanned the ANC in February 1990.
He consistently denied he had undergone a Damascus conversion. He said he recognised that apartheid was unworkable and, in the face of international condemnation and sanctions, unsustainable...
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