F. W. de Klerk

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/f-w-de-klerk

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was F. W. de Klerk born?March 18, 1936
2. When did F. W. de Klerk die?November 11, 2021 (age 85)
3. Where was F. W. de Klerk born?Johannesburg, South Africa
4. Who was F. W. de Klerk?F. W. de Klerk was the last president of South Africa during the end of apartheid. He was born in 1936 in Johannesburg and helped bring democracy to the country.
5. What did he do to end apartheid?He unbanned anti‑apartheid groups, released Nelson Mandela, allowed peaceful protests, and dismantled South Africa’s nuclear weapons program.

Apartheid: A system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination enforced in South Africa from 1948 to 1994.
Universal Suffrage: The right of all adult citizens to vote in political elections, regardless of race, gender, or social status.
Nobel Peace Prize: An international award recognizing significant contributions to peace, jointly awarded to de Klerk and Nelson Mandela in 1993.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission: A post-apartheid body established to investigate human rights abuses and grant amnesty to perpetrators.