The 85-year-old, FW de Klerk, the former president of South Africa, lost his battle with cancer on Thursday morning (11 November 2021) in his home in Fresnaye in Cape Town. He leaves behind his wife Elita (68), his children Susan (52) and Jan (57) and his grandchildren. His other son Willem also died of cancer in October 2020 at the age of 53.

De Klerk, a former resident of Vereeniging, was the last president in the apartheid era and a key player in leading South Africa to democracy.

In 1993, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to him and President Nelson Mandela in Oslo. He started a successful legal practice in Vereeniging in 1962 and transformed it into a successful practice in 10 years.

Dave Steward, spokesperson for the FW de Klerk Foundation, confirmed his death to News24. De Klerk announced in a statement in 2021 that he had been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the wall of the lung.

De Klerk was the state president from 1989 to 1994. The arrangements for his state funeral are expected to be announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.