By Tim Ito
Washingtonpost.com Staff
Updated: June 1999

When Nelson Mandela stepped down as president of South Africa in June 1999, it brought closure to one of the world's most remarkable political transitions – one that has transformed the country from a racist, white-minority outpost to a bedrock for democracy and stability in Africa.

For decades, South Africa's political system was dominated by a policy of apartheid – the segregation of whites, Coloreds, blacks and Asians from each other in all spheres of life and activity. Minority whites controlled political and economic life, discriminating heavily against the majority black South Africans, denying them basic political rights, restricting their movements, and violently suppressing dissenters. The ruling Nationalist Party's grip over the country was such that Mandela himself – then a leader of the African National Congress – was sentenced to life in prison in the early 1960s for plotting acts of sabotage against the government.

The harsh suppression of blacks and other minorities led to protests – and much rioting. In 1976, an uprising in Soweto township left hundreds dead, and pushed thousands of others into exile. For many, the riots served as a kind of wake-up call, helping to convince even some in the ruling party that the need for apartheid reform had arrived.

By the 1980s, other factors were making the system of apartheid untenable. A growth in the country's urban black population began to push many outside of their assigned "homelands" areas – a development that led to increased integration among the different cultures of South Africa, despite ruling party resistance. International sanctions, called for by anti-apartheid activists, began to take a bite as well, causing a retreat in foreign capital from the country. South Africa's economy, which had been growing at 5 percent annually in the 1970s, slowed dramatically.

In 1983, South Africa's President P.W. Botha did attempt to institute some reforms, introducing a new constitution that would incorporate Colored and Asian communities into government but only on a junior level to whites. Later in 1985, Botha made his famous "Rubicon" speech, signalling that blacks should have political rights in the areas where they lived – a clear departure from previous policies encouraging black separation and self-rule in their "homelands."

But Botha's moves did not satisfy opposition demands to completely end apartheid. In June 1988, some 2 million workers staged a massive strike to protest against government restrictions placed on trade unions and anti-apartheid groups. The strike crippled several key industries for days, shaking business confidence and adding further pressure on the minority ruling party. Finally, the endless unrest, sporadic violence, the ailing economy and international sanctions, took its toll on Botha, who resigned in August 1989.

The succession of education minister Frederik W. de Klerk to power in September produced little initial optimism among South Africa's blacks. Even astute South Africa observers viewed de Klerk as a kind of conservative, "business as usual" National Party member without much of an anti-apartheid history.

But contrary to what his skeptics believed, de Klerk would prove to be a real reformer. Realizing that apartheid could not work as its founders had intended, de Klerk moved quickly in the months after gaining power to dismantle the machinery of apartheid. In 1990, the president ended the government ban on the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid groups. De Klerk also ordered the release of black nationalist Mandela the same year, ending the opposition leader's 27-year ordeal in prison. Then in 1991, de Klerk's government abolished the last of the so-called "pillars of apartheid" – laws that guaranteed white ownership of 87 percent of the land and entrenched rigid segregation of the races. For their efforts at ending apartheid, de Klerk and Mandela were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

With Mandela free, discussions between de Klerk and Mandela began in earnest over future leadership and power-sharing arrangements. The ensuing period of negotiations produced recriminations from both sides, but ended with a historic new constitution, promulgated into law in December 1993. Among other things, the temporary charter provided for an April 1994 election that, for the first time, would allow blacks to vote for the national parliament and decide the presidency. Despite de Klerk's previous pledges that he wouldn't negotiate himself out of power, he had done precisely that.

The African National Congress received 62.7 percent of the vote in the April elections, and Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. Soon after his election, Mandela moved quickly to extend olive branches to white South Africans, and even former rivals like Inkatha Freedom Party chief, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who became Mandela's minister of home affairs. In rapid succession, the new president also moved to secure foreign aid and investment, establish a constitutional court, and sign into law the nation's first post-apartheid constitution.

In recent years, much South African attention has been focused on removing the legacy of apartheid. In 1995, Nelson Mandela signed into law a bill creating a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to uncover human rights abuses committed during South Africa's racially separatist past. A parade of leaders and activists appeared before the panel, including de Klerk, who admitted to causing pain and suffering during the period of white-minority rule. Mandela's former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, testified before the commission in 1997 in an attempt to publicly dispute allegations that she ordered several murders in the 1980s. Former president P.W. Botha refused to appear before the panel and was subsequently found guilty and fined.

The confessions, recriminations, and controversy surrounding the truth commission underscored the difficulty that the country has had in coming to grips with its past. In December 1997, even President Mandela, known for his public support of racial reconciliation, lashed out at the white opposition and white media accusing them of trying to thwart post-apartheid reforms and attempting to protect their racial privilege.

In the same December speech, Mandela announced that he was stepping down as head of the ruling African National Congress – a prelude to his eventual retirement from the country's presidency in 1999, when his term expires. (Indeed, Mandela has already given up most administrative functions of running the government to his presumed successor, Deputy President Thabo Mbeki.)

On June 2, 1999, millions of South Africans headed to the polls for the country's second all-race democratic election. By the end of the week, returns suggested a landslide victory for candidate Mbeki. He was sworn in as South Africa's second post-apartheid president on June 16.

Despite worries over the post-Mandela era, and lingering problems of poverty and random violence, South Africa's transition to democracy has made it the envy of the continent. Programs to deliver social services have improved, as has access to better educational and business opportunities. Challenges remain, but there is little doubt that the country has come a long way since the days of apartheid.