INKATHAGATE
In July 1991 disclosures appeared in the media that the government had for some time been providing clandestine assistance to the Inkatha Freedom Party. President De Klerk’s first reaction was to establish the facts. His enquiries revealed that the SAP and the SADF had been providing assistance to the IFP arising from secret projects that had been […]
FW DE KLERK SPEECH ON THE ADOPTION OF THE 1996 CONSTITUTION
TOESPRAAK DEUR ADJUNKPRESIDENT F W DE KLERK, GRONDWETDEBAT, 8 MEI 1996 Vandag bereik ons almal in hierdie vergadering die einde van ‘n lang en moeisame pad. Daar is geswoeg en gesweet, geveg en gebots. Onderhandelings het dikwels vasgeval. Dit was taai. However, it was also a creative path that we travelled. There was method in […]
PRESIDENT FW DE KLERK’S CONCESSION SPEECH
TOESPRAAK VAN DIE STAATSPRESIDENT, MNR F W DE KLERK, OP DIE VERKIESINGSUITSLAG 2 MEI 1994 Four years and three months ago I said in Parliament that the time had come for us to break out of the cycle of conflict, tension and violent struggle in which we had been embroiled for decades. I said that […]
IFP AGREES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 1994 ELECTION
JOINT STATEMENT BY THE STATE PRESIDENT, MR F W DE KLERK, LEADER OF THE NATIONAL PARTY MR N R MANDELA, PRESIDENT OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS AND CHIEF MINISTER M G BUTHELEZI, PRESIDENT OF THE INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY Delegations led by the State President, Mr F W de Klerk, Leader of the National Party, Mr N […]
HISTORICAL SPEECH: PRESENTATION OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
HISTORICAL SPEECH: PRESENTATION OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE [Excerpt from Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, delivered in Oslo, Norway, on 10 December 1993] “…In our quest for peace we should constantly ask ourselves what we should do to create conditions in which peace can prosper. It is easy to identify those forces and conditions which […]
PRESIDENT DE KLERK’S SPEECH AFTER THE ADOPTION BY PARLIAMENT OF THE 1993 CONSTITUTION
EMBARGO: VERGELYK TEEN LEWERING CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY TOESPRAAK BY GELEENTHEID VAN AFSLUITING VAN DIE PARLEMENTSITTING, DESEMBER 1993 Die Parlement is ‘n magtige instrument. Alhoewel dikwels ‘n wêreld op sy eie, ietwat afgesonderd van die volle werklikheid, hou ons hier die sleutels van mag en gesag. Dit is ‘n geweldige verantwoordelikheid. Wat hier besluit word, word […]
RESOLUTION OF THE OUTSTANDING MATTERS IMPEDING AGREEMENT ON THE 1993 CONSTITUTION
“By 17 December 1993, the text of the transitional constitution was virtually complete. There were still six important outstanding matters on which our negotiating teams had failed to reach agreement: “….I felt that an impossible situation would be created if the cabinet were to have to vote on every matter that came before it. If […]
THE ASSASSINATION OF CHRIS HANI
STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT F W DE KLERK ON THE ASSASSINATION OF MR CHRIS HANI ON 10 APRIL 1993 I have learned with shock of the assassination of Mr Chris Hani. The future of South Africa depends in a very real sense on our ability to resolve our political differences peacefully and in a spirit of […]
THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA’S DECISION TO DISMANTLE ITS NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAMME
Issued By the FW de Klerk Foundation on 24/03/2023 30 years ago – on 24 March 1993 – President FW de Klerk addressed a special session of the South African Parliament. Most MPs and journalists thought that he was going to announce some new development in the constitutional transformation process, which at that stage, was […]
THE RESUMPTION OF NEGOTIATIONS
THE RESUMPTION OF NEGOTIATIONS The formal negotiating process was resumed in March, 1993, following extensive consultations with all the parties involved. On 5 – 6 March a planning committee was convened that included representatives from 26 parties with significant support – including some that had not participated in CODESA 1 and 2. an additional 11 […]
