F.W. de Klerk, former state president of South Africa, is born in Johannesburg.

Frederik Willem de Klerk was born in Johannesburg on 18 March 1936. de Klerk grew up in a political family. He later studied law and practiced as a lawyer in Vereeninging, south of Johannesburg, Transvaal (now Gauteng). In 1975 he became information officer of the Transvaal National Party. He held several ministerial positions in the Cabinet of President P.W. Botha, including Minister of Post and Telecommunications and Sport and Recreation (1978-1979); Mines, Energy and Environmental Planning (1979-1980); Mineral and Energy Affairs (1980-1982); Internal Affairs (1982-1985); and National Education and Planning (1984-1989). In 1982 he became the Transvaal leader of the National Party after Dr Andries Treurnicht resigned from the party. De Klerk succeeded Botha as leader of the National Party in 1989. The same year, he met with political prisoner Nelson Mandela. Soon after, the ban on all political parties was lifted and Mandela was released from prison. He and Mandela jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. In 1994, he was appointed second vice president in Nelson Mandela’s cabinet. He retired from politics in 1997.