ABSTRACT
Frederik Willem de Klerk used an impeccable legal career and high social and political position to force white South Africa to end apartheid. Born March 18, 1936, de Klerk enjoyed a privileged upbringing in South Africa, both because of his fathers position as a leading politician and as a white person in a country divided by race. In 1990, de Klerk began a series of talks with representatives of the four so-called designated races: whites, blacks, coloureds, and Asians. With a preference for political moderation and with a real desire to make South Africa a functional, multiracial country, Frederik de Klerk provided the political impetus to end apartheid in South Africa. While de Klerk's actions ended political separation, they could not end the economic divide between the races. De Klerk knew that in a political and economic system the majority may rule, but it must accommodate itself to the minorities who support it.
