The Complicated Legacy of F W de Klerk

The Complicated Legacy of F W de Klerk

The result of his complicated legacy, the death of South Africa's last apartheid president, F W de Klerk, on November 11 2021 generated a flood of differing assessments. De Klerk wrote himself into the history of South Africa on February 2 1990, when he announced the unbanning of the African National Party (ANC) and other liberation movements, as well as the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. While this set South Africa on the path of reform, De Klerk’s failure to break free of apartheid thinking was evident throughout the years that would follow.


To arrive at a rounded, fact-based understanding of De Klerk’s place in history, Dan is joined by “Mac” Maharaj. Mac has been involved in the freedom struggle since 1952. After serving a twelve-year sentence on Robben Island from 1965-1976, he was appointed secretary of the department charged with organising the ANC within South Africa. Mac served alongside De Klerk in the first democratic cabinet, led by Mandela. As joint secretary of the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum and the Transitional Executive Council, Mac was directly involved in the negotiations that produced the transition from apartheid to democracy.


Mac is the co-author of the upcoming Breakthrough: The Struggles and Secret Talks that Brought Apartheid SA to the Negotiating Table

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1491)

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln began his life in a log cabin in Kentucky, the son of poor pioneers. He would end it as President of the United States, having steered the Union through the turbulent years of civil wa...

25 Feb 202441min

Britain's Secret Expedition to Antarctica

Britain's Secret Expedition to Antarctica

In 1943, just as the Second World War was raging across the globe, the British government launched a top-secret mission to the Antarctic. Code-named Operation Tabarin, its goal was to gather scientifi...

21 Feb 202436min

Harold Godwinson: The Last Anglo-Saxon King

Harold Godwinson: The Last Anglo-Saxon King

Dr Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis uncover the stories of the protagonists and events that led up to the Battle of Hastings. There’s Harold Godwinson, the Anglo-Saxon Lord who became the king of a peopl...

20 Feb 202434min

Greek Myths: The Furies

Greek Myths: The Furies

The gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece have been written about for thousands of years. From their home atop Mount Olympus, they reigned over the land, sea and sky. The course of human history was sh...

19 Feb 202420min

The Last Gay Men Executed in Britain

The Last Gay Men Executed in Britain

Why was Georgian Britain's penal code so bloodthirsty when it came to homosexuality? Was Britain unusually cruel in this regard? And does this animosity persist to the present day? For LGBT+ History M...

18 Feb 202425min

Life and Death in Greco-Roman Egypt

Life and Death in Greco-Roman Egypt

In its final centuries, Ancient Egypt was conquered by the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans, beginning with the invasion of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. But these new arrivals didn't squash the E...

14 Feb 202434min

The Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza

Built by Pharaoh Khufu some 4,500 years ago, the Great Pyramid was the first ancient wonder to be built and is the only one still standing. Towering above the Giza Plateau, this stone behemoth was to ...

13 Feb 202428min

Rameses The Great

Rameses The Great

Was Rameses really that great or just an excellent self-promoter? Well, as Dan learns in this episode, a little bit of both. He reigned for 66 years and marked a golden era of prosperity, architectura...

13 Feb 202422min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
henrettelsespodden
rss-katastrofe
historier-som-endret-norge
med-egne-oyne
rss-historiske-romanser
sektledere
rss-benadet
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
aftenposten-historie
historier-som-endret-verden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-frontkjemperne
historiepodden-ww2
rss-gamle-greier
historiepodden
rss-historiepodden-ww2
rss-alt-var-bedre-for
vare-historier
liberal-halvtime