20/10/2026
✨LEGACY THURSDAY ✨
15 October 1993: A Nobel Peace Prize for a country in transition
In October 1993, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela as joint recipients of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. The Committee recognised their work towards the peaceful end of apartheid and the foundations of a new democratic South Africa.
For South Africa, the announcement came at a pivotal moment - negotiations were continuing and the country was moving towards its first democratic election.
Thirty-three years later, the Nobel Peace Prize remains an important part of FW de Klerk's legacy: a recognition of the possibility of resolving deep conflict through negotiation, compromise and reconciliation.