Former South Africa president De Klerk dies at age 85
FW de Klerk, who was also a key figure in the nation's transition to democracy, had been diagnosed with cancer this year, a spokesman said
Former South African president Frederik Willem de Klerk, the last leader under Apartheid and a key actor in the country's transition to democracy, has died, his foundation has announced.
De Klerk, who was also a key figure in the nation's transition to democracy, had been diagnosed with cancer this year, a spokesman said, reports the BBC.
He was head of state between September 1989 and May 1994.
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In 1990 he announced the release of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.
A statement from the former president's FW de Klerk Foundation on Thursday morning read: "Former President FW de Klerk died peacefully at his home in Fresnaye (Cape Town) earlier this morning following his struggle against mesothelioma cancer."
The foundation had announced the diagnosis - a cancer that affects the lining of the lungs - in June this year.
FW de Klerk had taken over from PW Botha as the head of the National Party in February 1989 and the following year announced he was removing the ban on parties that included Mr Mandela's African National Congress (ANC).
His actions helped bring an end to apartheid-era South Africa, and he became one of the two deputy presidents after the multi-party elections in 1994 that saw Mandela become president.
