Pik Botha

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Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha (born April 27, 1932, in Rustenburg, Transvaal) is a former South African politician who served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era. He was considered to be a liberal - at least in comparison to others in the ruling National Party and among the Afrikaner community.

He is not related to late contemporary National Party politician P W Botha.

[edit] Diplomat and lawyer

Botha began his career in the South African foreign service in 1953, serving in Sweden and West Germany. From 1963 to 1966, he served on the team representing South Africa at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the matter of Ethiopia and Liberia v. South Africa, over the South African occupation of South-West Africa (Namibia).

In 1966, Botha was appointed law adviser at the South African Department of Foreign Affairs. In that capacity, he served on the delegation representing South Africa at the United Nations from 1966 to 1974. At this time, he was appointed South Africa's ambassador to the United Nations, but a month after he presented his credentials, South Africa was suspended from membership.

Pik Botha (at right) in 1984, with (left to right) Mrs Graça Machel, President Samora Machel of Mozambique, and State President P W Botha, at the signing of the Nkomati Accord.

[edit] Politician

In 1970, Botha entered the realm of electoral politics, winning a seat in the South African parliament as a member of the National Party. In 1975, Botha was appointed South Africa's ambassador to the United States, in addition to his U.N. post. In 1977, he was appointed minister for foreign affairs.

Botha entered the contest to be Prime Minister of South Africa in 1978. His candidacy acted as a spoiler, ensuring the victory of P. W. Botha.^{[citation needed]}

In 1985, Pik Botha drafted a speech that would have announced the release of Nelson Mandela, but this draft was rejected by P. W. Botha.^{[citation needed]}

The next year, he stated publicly that it would be possible for South Africa to be ruled by a black president provided that there were guarantees for minority rights. President P.W. Botha quickly forced foreign minister Botha to acknowledge that this position did not reflect government policy.

In December 1988 Pik Botha flew to Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, with Defence Minister Magnus Malan, and signed a peace protocol with Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, and with Angolan and Cuban signatories. At the signing he said "A new era has begun in South Africa. My government is removing racial discrimination. We want to be accepted by our African brothers".

[edit] Namibian independence

On December 22, 1988, Pik Botha signed the tripartite agreement involving Angola, Cuba and South Africa at United Nations headquarters in New York City which led to the implementation of Security Council Resolution 435, and to South Africa's relinquishing control of Namibia after decades of defiance.

On December 21, 1988 Pik Botha, with a 22-strong South African delegation from Johannesburg, was initially booked to travel to the Namibian independence ratification ceremony in New York on Pan Am Flight 103 via London to New York. Instead, the booking was cancelled as he and six delegates took an earlier flight, thereby avoiding the fatal PA 103 crash at Lockerbie, Scotland.

[edit] National unity

Botha subsequently served as Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs in South Africa's first post-apartheid government from 1994 to 1996 under President Nelson Mandela.

Botha became deputy leader of the National Party in the Transvaal from 1987 to 1996. He retired from politics in 1996 when F. W. de Klerk withdrew the National Party from the government of national unity.

In 2000, Botha declared his support for President Thabo Mbeki and joined the African National Congress. Though he remains an ANC member, Botha has more recently expressed criticism for the government's affirmative action policies saying that the then South African government would never have reached a constitutional settlement with the ANC in 1994 had it insisted on its current affirmative action programme.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• South African History Online
• South African Who's Who