Pieter Willem Botha

Pieter Willem Botha , 1916-2006, South African political leader. An Afrikaner and a member of the right-wing National party, he first entered parliament in 1948. Botha gained prominence as minister of defense (1966-80) and became prime minister in 1978. He initiated a limited reform of apartheid policies, establishing a new constitution that provided legislative chambers for whites, Coloureds (persons of mixed race), and Asians but excluded the black majority; under it, he became executive president in 1984. While hinting at the possibility of dismantling apartheid, and beginning negotiations with Nelson Mandela , he promoted the bantustan (homelands) policy, violently repressed dissent, encouraged tribal rivalries within the country, and actively destabilized neighboring nations, particularly those that harbored African National Congress forces. Reelected in 1987, he resigned over party differences in 1989 and was succeeded by F. W. de Klerk . His 1998 contempt conviction for refusing to testify before the Truth Commission regarding apartheid-era crimes was overturned by an appeals court.

Bibliography: See Fighter and Reformer: Extracts from the Speeches of P. W. Botha (1989); B. Pottinger, The Imperial Presidency: P. W. Botha, the First 10 Years (1988).

Botha, Pieter Willem (b. 12 Jan. 1916). Prime Minister of South Africa 1978–84, President 1984–9 Born in Paul Roux (Orange Free State), he abandoned his university studies and moved to Cape Province in 1936 to become a full-time officer of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1948, becoming Minister of Defence in 1966. Following Vorster's resignation he became Prime Minister, largely owing to the disunity among the Transvaal members of the National Party. He became President under a revised Constitution which gave him extensive powers. While he appreciated the difficulties arising from the growing economic, cultural, and military isolation of his country because of the apartheid system, he was also frightened by the potential erosion of National Party support at the hands of more radical proponents of apartheid, who in 1982 formed the Conservative Party. Hence, his racial reforms were careful and partial. He abolished the pass laws compelling Blacks and Coloureds to carry identity cards, and conceded limited Coloured and Indian (though not Black) representation in Parliament. He also conceded the idea of Namibian independence in 1988, which ultimately took place in 1990. His autocratic style and his increasingly evident inability to find a solution to the country's racial problems, which plunged the country more and more into international isolation, led to his removal from office while he was recuperating from a heart attack. He was succeeded by de Klerk. The ‘Great Crocodile’ refused to cooperate with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which he considered illegitimate. For this, he was given a 12-month suspended jail sentence and a fine of 10,000 Rand.