The first president of South Africa.

South Africa became independent in 1961, and its first president was Peter Willem Botha.

on January 12th, 1916, Botha was born into a wealthy Dutch white family in the Orange Free State of South Africa. His father took part in the Boer War against the British colonists. During the war, the farm of Botha's mother's family was burned down by the British army, and his mother was imprisoned. Like many other Dutch whites, the sense of independence and sense of belonging to South Africa are deeply branded in his heart-after 3 years of colonization and settlement, Dutch whites have long regarded South Africa as their "godsend home".

Botha showed a stubborn and aggressive character when she was young. He dropped out of college at the age of 2 and joined the right-wing nationalist party "Kuomintang". In 1948, with the Kuomintang in power in South Africa, Botha was elected as a member of the National Assembly. From this year on, the Kuomintang began to build a comprehensive apartheid system in South Africa. Botha later held several important government positions, including Deputy Minister of Interior, Minister of Defence and Prime Minister.

Botha is famous for her tough and manipulative ruling style. When the black people fought for political rights, he ruthlessly suppressed by strengthening the state machine and provoked conflicts between black tribes to divide and disintegrate. When he was prime minister, he once had a famous saying: "We either adapt (to the situation) or perish." However, this sentence seems to be more of an excuse for him to consolidate his personal power.

Botha's government established a three-chamber parliament in 1983, in which white people, who are a minority in population, control legislative power and most government power. Indians and other people of color have legislative power only in the laws concerning the affairs of their own communities; Black people, who make up the majority of the population, have no say in the government. This constitutional amendment further consolidated Botha's own power. In 1984, he became the first president of South Africa.

After 1984, black riots swept across the country, and Botha declared a state of emergency. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested, tortured and even killed. In the name of "terrorist organizations", the South African government declared dozens of organizations such as the African National Congress against apartheid illegal, closed a number of newspapers, and secretly attacked members of the ANC in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and other countries. It is reported that Botha himself personally ordered the torture and assassination of ANC members, and the notoriety of "crocodile" spread all over the world.

The tough stance of Botha's government and the domestic repression in South Africa have aroused strong dissatisfaction from the international community. Western countries, led by the United States and Britain, imposed large-scale economic sanctions and political isolation on South Africa. However, South Africa's rich gold and diamond deposits can support the government for many years. At the peak of economic sanctions, South Africa's arms industry was very developed. Not only could it support its own army, but it even participated in Israel's secret plan to develop nuclear weapons.

In July, 1989, Botha met Nelson Mandela, the leader of the ANC who had been imprisoned for 27 years, under pressure from home and abroad. Mandela later recalled: "It is said that he is a stubborn person who is unwilling to talk to black leaders. At that time, I made up my mind that if he treated me in some impolite way, I must let him know how unpopular this behavior is. " But to Mandela's surprise, Botha smiled and shook hands with him. "That was the first time I felt that he didn't have any hostility towards me."

However, the talks between the two sides broke down, and Botha still refused to release Mandela. Later that year, Botha suffered a slight stroke and was forced to resign. As soon as Botha's successor, Federick de Klerk, took office, he quickly began to abolish apartheid, legalize anti-apartheid parties such as the ANC, release Mandela, and held the first multi-racial general election in South Africa in 1994. As a result, Mandela was elected as the first black president of South Africa.

In 1998, Botha was accused of participating in the bombing of the headquarters of the Council of African Churches ten years ago, and was sentenced to contempt of court for refusing to testify before the Peace and Reconciliation Commission. Until earlier this year, he still insisted that he was not a racist. "I have nothing to apologize for. I will never beg for pardon, not now, not tomorrow and not in the future. "

On October 31st, 26, local time, 9-year-old Peter Willem Botha died of a heart attack at his home in Wasteland Village, West Cape, South Africa.

On October 31st, Mandela expressed his condolences to Botha in a statement. He said, "For many people, Botha is still a symbol of apartheid. But we should also remember his initial work for the final realization of the peace agreement in South Africa. "

On November 8th, Mbeki and De Klerk led many government officials to attend Botha's funeral in a church in Georgetown. Some ordinary people gathered outside the church to demonstrate that they would never forgive Botha. Botha's old friend, an evangelical priest from Jordan, called for reconciliation in his funeral sermon: "Either you bury the past, or the past will bury you." ■