in July 1989, when he eventually invited Mandela to the presidential resi-
dence in Cape Town, he did no more than indulge in small talk. But
Botha's leadership days were numbered: he had a stroke in January 1989,
in February he resigned as National party leader, and in August he lost the
post of state president following a revolt by his cabinet, whose members
resented his autocratic ways.
As Botha's successor, the National party parliamentary caucus chose
Frederik Willem de Klerk. De Klerk was the son and grandson of National
party politicians. He was deeply committed to Afrikaner cultural and po-
litical nationalism, and he was regarded as a conservative member of
Botha's cabinet. He was, however, twenty years younger than Botha, and
like many other Afrikaners of his generation, he realized that in its current
form apartheid was not workable; it was necessary to respond to the do-
mestic and foreign pressures by taking more drastic action than the tenta-
tive reforms adopted by Botha. His older brother, Professor Willem de
Klerk, believes that soon after his election he underwent "a political con-
version"; others have called it a "religious conversion. "14 After reviewing
the situation, the new president concluded that the best hope for his peo-