F.W. De Klerk
Definition
F.W. De Klerk was a South African politician who served as the country's State President from 1989 to 1994. He is known for engineering the end of apartheid and supporting the transformation of South Africa into a multi-racial democracy.
Analogy
Think of F.W. De Klerk as a captain of a ship (South Africa) that has been sailing in stormy waters (apartheid). Realizing that they can't continue this way, he decides to change course and steer towards calmer seas (democracy).
Related terms
Apartheid: As mentioned above, this was a system of institutionalized racial segregation that existed in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s.
Democracy: A system of government where citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body.
Reform: The improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc., usually in laws or social systems.
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