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Admin moved page Why did Apartheid end in South Africa in the 1990s? to Why did Apartheid end in South Africa in the 1990s
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[[File:Mandela_burn_pass_1960.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|Nelson Mandela burns a pass that all black South Africans are were required to carry in 1960.]]
Apartheid, the Afrikaans name given by the white-ruled South Africa’s Nationalist Party in 1948 to the country’s harsh, institutionalized system of racial segregation, came to an end in the early 1990s in a series of steps that led to the formation of a democratic government in 1994. Years of violent internal protest, weakening white commitment, international economic and cultural sanctions, economic struggles, and the end of the Cold War brought down white minority rule in Pretoria. U.S. policy toward the regime underwent a gradual but complete transformation that played an important conflicting role in Apartheid’s initial survival and eventual downfall.
====Why did de Klerk release Nelson Mandela from prison?====
[[File:Frederik_de_Klerk_with_Nelson_Mandela.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|Frederik de Klerk and Nelson Mandela]]
The effects of the internal unrest and international condemnation led to dramatic changes beginning in 1989. South African Prime Minister P.W. Botha resigned after it became clear that he had lost the faith of the ruling National Party (NP) for his failure to bring order to the country. His successor, F W de Klerk, in a move that surprised observers, announced in his opening address to Parliament in February 1990 that he was lifting the ban on the ANC and other black liberation parties, allowing freedom of the press, and releasing political prisoners. The country waited in anticipation for the release of Nelson Mandela who walked out of prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990.
====Conclusion====
After Prime Minister de Klerk agreed to democratic elections for the country, the United States lifted sanctions and increased foreign aid, and many of the U.S. companies who disinvested in the 1980s returned with new investments and joint ventures. In April 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa’s first black president.
* Republished from [https://history.state.gov/| Office of the Historian, United States Department of State]
* Article: [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/apartheid| The End of Apartheid]
[[Category:US State Department]] [[Category:Wikis]][[Category:African History]] [[Category:20th Century History]] [[Category:Cold War History]] [[Category:Diplomatic History]]