F. W. de Klerk
The last president of apartheid South Africa who, in a stunning reversal, negotiated the system's end and shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela.
1936–2021 (age 85)·President of South Africa from 1989 to 1994·Birthday: March 18·The Silent Generation
Biography
F.W. de Klerk was an unlikely revolutionary. A career politician from a staunch Afrikaner nationalist family, he was expected to preserve white minority rule when he became South Africa's president in 1989. Instead, within months, he stunned the world. Reading the dire economic and political winds, de Klerk made a series of calculated, monumental gambles: he unbanned the African National Congress, released Nelson Mandela from prison, and began negotiations to dismantle apartheid. His motives—a mix of pragmatism, reformist belief, and a desire to avoid a bloody civil war—remain debated. But his actions irrevocably changed history. He served as Mandela's deputy president in the Government of National Unity, a living symbol of a negotiated transition, though he later faced criticism for not fully confronting apartheid's crimes.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
F. was born in 1936, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When F. Was Born
The biggest hits of 1936
#1 Movie
San Francisco
Best Picture
The Great Ziegfeld
F.'s Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1936Born
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1941Started school
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1949Became a teenager
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1952Could drive
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1954Could vote
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1957Turned 21
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1966Turned 30
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1976Turned 40
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 50
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 60
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 70
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 80
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2021Died at 85
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
Key Achievements
- Ordered the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990 after 27 years of incarceration.
- Oversaw the repeal of the foundational legislative pillars of the apartheid system.
- Co-recipient with Nelson Mandela of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the peaceful transition.
- Served as Executive Deputy President under President Nelson Mandela from 1994 to 1996.
Did You Know?
In his youth, he was a champion debater at Potchefstroom University.
His brother, Willem de Klerk, was a journalist and early anti-apartheid activist within the National Party.
He announced Mandela's release and the unbanning of political parties in a speech to parliament on February 2, 1990, a date now celebrated in South Africa.
In his final public message before his death, he offered a qualified apology for apartheid but stopped short of calling it a crime against humanity, causing controversy.
“I apologize for the pain and the hurt and the indignity and the damage that apartheid has done to Black, Brown and Indians in South Africa.”
