FW De Klerk Played Key Role In Our Democratic Transition – Ramaphosa

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday called the late FW de Klerk “brave” for challenging his party to negotiate an end to the white minority regime, but also detailed the horrors of the National Party’s regime he led and his fear democratic change.

De Klerk, credited with overseeing a peaceful transition from a white minority regime in South Africa to a predominantly black government led by Nelson Mandela, died last month at the age of 85 from the effects of cancer.

“By taking such a bold step, FW de Klerk has stood up against many members of his own party and many white South Africans,” Ramaphosa said on Sunday at a state memorial service in honour of from the old leader.

De Klerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993 for his role in suppressing apartheid, but many black South Africans suspect he was motivated entirely by pragmatism rather