South Africa's last apartheid leader dies at 85

FW de Klerk, the former president of South Africa and the last white man to lead the country, has died at the age of 85, Report informs, citing BBC.

A spokesman said that Mr de Klerk, who was also a key figure in the nation's transition to democracy, had been diagnosed with cancer this year.

Mr de Klerk was head of state between September 1989 and May 1994.

In 1990 he announced he was releasing anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, leading to multi-party polls in 1994.

A statement from the former president's FW de Klerk Foundation on Thursday morning read: "Former President FW de Klerk died peacefully at his home in Fresnaye (Cape Town) earlier this morning following his struggle against mesothelioma cancer."

FW de Klerk had taken over from PW Botha as the head of the National Party in February 1989. The following year, he announced he was removing the ban on parties that included Mr. Mandela's African National Congress (ANC).

His actions helped bring an end to apartheid-era South Africa, and he became one of the two deputy presidents after the multi-party elections in 1994 that saw Mr. Mandela become president.