Son of a distinguished Afrikaner family, he was born in Johannesburg and practised law until entering politics in 1972. In 1982 he became Minister of Internal Affairs under President P. W. Botha. At that time he became leader of the National Party of Transvaal and pressed the concept of “limited power-sharing” between the races. On becoming President in September 1989 he appeared to move steadily towards the position of accepting universal suffrage, while being threatened from the right by conservative and extremist groups, many of whom were clearly influencing his police force. In 1990 he opened discussion with Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress, and his government began to dismantle apartheid legislation. He established an all-party Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and in 1992 won a referendum to continue the reform process. In 1993 a new (transitional) constitution was adopted, which gave all South African adults the right to vote. De Klerk was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Mandela, in 1993. He served as Second Deputy President of South Africa from 1994, following the country’s first multiracial elections, until 1996, when he withdrew his party from the governing coalition. De Klerk stood down as leader of the National Party in 1997.