The death of FW de Klerk early on Thursday morning signifies the end of an era. As the last surviving state President to have presided over apartheid South Africa, de Klerk’s death after a 9-month struggle with cancer, diagnosed earlier this year, has been met with divided opinions and debates over his legacy.

by Stuart Round

He is remembered both as a proponent for apartheid who rose through the ranks of the National Party to eventually occupy the country’s highest office, and as a reforming visionary who, at not inconsiderable risk to himself, opened the way to bring that system to an end and, with Nelson Mandela, achieve a relatively peaceful transition to democracy where many thought none was possible.

In that sense, his legacy embodies some of the most difficult questions South Africa still grapples with today. Tainted by a controversial past, questioned over the authenticity of his “conversion”; the debate about de Klerk’s life and legacy mirrors the debate about how justice can truly be achieved in post-apartheid South Africa today when the harm that was done to so many is beyond human capacity to repair or undo. How to balance an honest recognition of past wrongs with accountability, forgiveness, reconciliation and above all, justice – all while achieving the impossible?

And indeed, these seem to have been the issues at the forefront of his mind as he contemplated his own demise, so much so that he decided to address them in a 7-minute video filmed shortly before his death. Barely recognisable, frail and clearly seriously ill, he thanks his friends for their support throughout his life, is open about his support for apartheid during his early life, is contrite in his apology for the harm done, and expresses his pride in and support for the new Constitution which he helped to negotiate before its adoption in 1996, and which he hopes will guide South Africa towards achieving its full potential.

Watch the video below: