Five Things You Didn’t Know About Late South African President, FW De Klerk

A former South African president, FW de Klerk, died on Thursday at 85, his foundation announced. De Klerk died after a battle with cancer. The deceased had announced his diagnosis on his 85th birthday, on March 18 this year.

The statement read in part, “It is with the deepest sadness that the FW de Klerk Foundation must announce that former president FW de Klerk died peacefully at his home in Fresnaye earlier this morning following his struggle against mesothelioma cancer.” 

He is survived by his wife Elita, children Jan and Susan, and grandchildren.

However, here are five things you didn’t know about the late South African president, FW de Klerk.

• F. W. de Klerk was born on March 18, 1936, in Mayfair, a suburb of Johannesburg.His parents were Johannes “Jan” de Klerk and Hendrina Cornelia Coetzer. He was born in the economic hub of Johannesburg, into a family of Afrikaners, a white ethnic group descended mainly from Dutch colonisers, his father was a leading apartheid senator who served briefly as interim president.

• He studied law, before being elected to parliament as a member of the National Party that instituted apartheid. De Klerk then held several ministerial positions before he became present in 1989, a position he held until he handed over the reins of affairs to Mandela after the first democratic elections in 1994.

• De Klerk was South Africa’s last white president. He and South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for leading the “miracle” transition from white rule in the country.

• He is most remembered for his famous speech delivered on February 2, 1990, announcing the lifting of a ban on the African National Congress (ANC) and other liberation movements. In the same speech, he ordered the release of anti-apartheid icon Mandela, from prison after 27 years in jail.

• De Klerk was a heavy smoker but gave up smoking towards the end of 2005. He also enjoyed a glass of whisky or wine while relaxing. Also, he enjoyed playing golf and hunting, as well as going for brisk walks.