F.W. de Klerk

Date: 20 September, 1989

After the September general election, F.W. De Klerk was inaugurated as the new State President at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. De Klerk had been Acting State President since 15 August 1989, following the abdication of President P.W. Botha in August. President De Klerk started South Africa on the road to full democracy. In February,1990, he freed Nelson Mandela and unbanned the African National Congress (ANC) and other liberation movements. He released their leaders and held talks with the ANC and other groups. De Klerk also succeeded in gaining the support of the White electorate in the referendum on 17 March, 1992, which, as he said "closed the book on apartheid" and paved the way to a new dispensation for all the people of South Africa. De Klerk served in this position until the first democratic elections were held in 1994.

References:

1. FW de Klerk [online], available at: fwdklerk.org.za [accessed 21 September 2009]
2. South Africa on the Edge [online], available at: nybooks.com [accessed 21 September 2009]
3. South African Referendum [online], available at: anc.org.za [accessed 21 September 200]