View source for Frederik van Zyl Slabbert

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use South African English|date=May 2012}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2009}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = Frederik van Zyl Slabbert
| image               = 
| imagesize           = 
| smallimage          = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.-->
| alt                 = 
| caption             = 
| order               = 
| office              = Leader of the [[Progressive Federal Party]]
| term_start          = 1979
| term_end            = 1986
| alongside           = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district.  (e.g. United States Senators.)-->
| predecessor         = [[Colin Eglin]]
| successor           = Colin Eglin
| constituency        = 
| majority            = 
| order2              = 
| office2             = 
| term_start2         = 
| term_end2           = 
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|df=yes|1940|03|02}}
| birth_place         = [[Pretoria, South Africa]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2010|05|14|1940|03|02}}
| death_place         = Johannesburg, South Africa
| nationality         = [[South Africa]]n
| party               = [[Progressive Federal Party]]
| spouse              = 
| children            = 2
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = [[University of Stellenbosch]]
| occupation          = Analyst, businessman, politician
}}

'''Frederik van Zyl Slabbert''' [[Order of the Baobab|GCOB]] (2 March 1940 &ndash; 14 May 2010) was a South African political analyst, businessman and politician.<ref name="Citizen2010a">{{Citation | title = Frederik van Zyl Slabbert dies | newspaper = [[The Citizen (South Africa)|The Citizen]] | location =  Johannesburg | date = 15 May 2010 | url= http://www.citizen.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58917&catid=25:local-news&Itemid=34 }}</ref> He is best known for having been the leader of the [[official opposition]] – the [[Progressive Federal Party]] (PFP) – in the [[House of Assembly of South Africa|House of Assembly]] from 1979 to 1986.<ref name="Citizen2010a"/>

==Early life, education and academic career==
Born in [[Pretoria]] to an [[Afrikaner]] family, Slabbert grew up in [[Pietersburg]] (now Polokwane) in northern Transvaal (now the [[Limpopo Province]] of South Africa).<ref name="Citizen2010a"/> He matriculated from Pietersburg's Afrikaans High School in 1958.
After graduating, he studied theology at the [[University of Stellenbosch]] for 18 months before deciding that [[sociology]] was his calling. He completed a BA Honours at the university, and a [[doctorate]] in 1967.<ref name="Citizen2010a"/>

After completing his studies he worked as a [[sociology]] lecturer at Stellenbosch University, [[Rhodes University]] and the [[University of Cape Town]]. In 1973, he was appointed head of the [[sociology]] department of the [[University of the Witwatersrand]].<ref name="Citizen2010a"/>

== Political career ==
{{Moresources|section|date=August 2023}}
During his academic studies, Slabbert developed an active interest in politics, which led him to reject [[apartheid]] and to stand for a seat on Stellenbosch University's Students' Representative Council. He lost the election as he was considered to be too [[Liberalism|liberal]].

In the [[1974 South African general election|1974 general election]], Slabbert stood for election as a [[Progressive Party (South Africa)|Progressive Party]] (PP) candidate for the constituency of [[Rondebosch]]. 

Although he was not expected to win the seat, he beat the [[United Party (South Africa)|United Party]] (UP) candidate by 1,600 votes.  Slabbert defended and retained this seat in the parliamentary [[1977 South African general election|elections of 1977]] and [[1981 South African general election|1981]].<ref name="Citizen2010a"/>

Slabbert rose through the ranks of the PP and came to play an important role in the development of the party's ideology, particularly as the chairman of its Constitutional Committee. Using his influence, he helped to position the PP and its later incarnations as a liberal movement which advocated the creation of a non-racial democracy in [[South Africa]]. A respect for individual liberty became a cornerstone of the PP because of the work of Slabbert and others.

In 1979, he became leader of the [[Progressive Federal Party]] (PFP), a grouping formed after the PP merged with various other liberal elements, most notably [[Harry Schwarz]]'s [[Reform Party (South Africa)|Reform Party]]. The PFP fared well in the [[1981 South African general election|1981 elections]], increasing its representation in the [[House of Assembly of South Africa|House of Assembly]] from 17 to 26 seats.<ref>[http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOUTH_AFRICA_1981_E.PDF SOUTH AFRICA Date of Elections: 29 April 1981], [[International Parliamentary Union]]. Accessed 31 July 2023.</ref>

In 1986, Slabbert resigned from his position as leader of the opposition because he felt that Parliament was becoming an irrelevant institution in the context of South Africa's political problems. Prior to his resignation, he published a book entitled ''The Last White Parliament'' in which he explained his actions, and his predictions for the future of [[South Africa]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=a5oIAAAAIAAJ ''The Last White Parliament''], Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, J. Ball Publishers, 1985.</ref>

Following his resignation, Slabbert and [[Alex Boraine]], a fellow [[Progressive Federal Party|PFP]] MP, formed the liberal think tank [[IDASA]] (Institute for Democracy in Africa)<ref name="Citizen2010a"/><ref name="WashingtonPost2010">{{Citation | title = Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, white anti-apartheid leader, dies at 70 | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | location =  Washington | date = 15 May 2010 | url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR2010051405409.html }}</ref> with funding from, among others, the [[Ford Foundation]], the [[United States Agency for International Development]] and the [[National Endowment for Democracy]].<ref>[https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/96046/19%20-%20cannot%20split.pdf Neo-liberalism and Democracy: The Role of Intellectuals in South Africa’s “Democratic Transition”], Ian Taylor, ''Political Cultures in Democratic South Africa'', Edited by Henning Melber, Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala, 2002</ref><ref>Robinson, William I. (1996). Promoting Polyarchy: Globalization, US Intervention, and Hegemony. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> Critics from the left charged that it "pushed an essentially neoliberal agenda" focussing on limited forms of representative democracy in which economic questions were not subject to democratic control.<ref>[https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/96046/19%20-%20cannot%20split.pdf Neo-liberalism and Democracy: The Role of Intellectuals in South Africa’s “Democratic Transition”], Ian Taylor, ''Political Cultures in Democratic South Africa'', Edited by Henning Melber, Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsala, 2002</ref>

As head of IDASA, Slabbert played a leading role in initiating dialogue between white South Africans and the [[African National Congress]] (ANC). His efforts led to the [[Dakar Conference]] of 1987, which took place between the anti-apartheid movement and leading (mainly [[Afrikaner]]) politicians, academics and businessmen in [[Senegal]].<ref name="Citizen2010b">{{Citation | author8= O'Grady, Jenni | title = Tributes for Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert | newspaper = [[The Citizen (South Africa)|The Citizen]] | location =  Johannesburg | date = 16 May 2010 | url= http://www.citizen.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58572&catid=80:breaking-news&Itemid=132 }}</ref> This conference represented the first step towards dismantling apartheid and informed subsequent negotiations ([[CODESA]]) which changed the course of South Africa's history.

In 2002, Slabbert was appointed by the then Minister of Home Affairs, with the approval of Cabinet, as the chair of the Electoral Task Team. The team had the responsibility of coming up with a new Electoral Act for South Africa. The task team completed its work by early 2003, and presented a report to Cabinet, including draft legislation, recommending a closed-list, mixed member proportional electoral system. However, the team's recommendations were never implemented.

==Business career==
{{Unsourced|section|date=August 2023}}
From the 1990s until his death, Slabbert was a successful entrepreneur and businessperson. Slabbert also worked as regional facilitator for the [[George Soros]]-backed funding organisation, the [[Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa]], which identifies and invests in worthy projects in nine [[Africa]]n countries.

In addition, he co-founded Khula — a black investment trust — in 1990. Slabbert was appointed as chairman of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed Adcorp Holdings in 1998 and also sat on the boards of several other JSE-listed companies such as Wooltru, Investec, Caxton and Radiospoor.

==Final years==

Slabbert was appointed as the 13th chancellor of [[Stellenbosch University]] on 1 August 2008, but he suffered a heart attack at the end of the same year, an event that led to him having a [[pacemaker]] inserted.<ref name="Citizen2010a"/> He resigned from the post for health reasons in September 2009.<ref name="SU2010">{{Citation | title =SU loses a leader of stature | location =Stellenbosch | date =14 May 2010 | url =http://blogs.sun.ac.za/news/2010/05/14/su-loses-a-leader-of-stature/ | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110722005300/http://blogs.sun.ac.za/news/2010/05/14/su-loses-a-leader-of-stature/ | archive-date =22 July 2011 }}</ref>

In early May 2010, Slabbert was discharged from hospital after receiving treatment for a liver related illness. He died at home on 14 May 2010. Slabbert was survived by his wife Jane and two children from his first marriage—Tania and Riko. He reportedly was bitter because he gave his whole life to the struggle of the ANC and felt betrayed when Thabo Mbeki didn't appoint him as a Minister. <ref name="Citizen2010a"/>

==Legacy==

Many public figures in [[South Africa]] paid tribute to Slabbert for the role he played in ending apartheid.<ref name="WashingtonPost2010"/><ref name="Citizen2010c">{{Citation | author8= Mokati, Noni | title = Slabbert praised at memorial | newspaper = [[The Citizen (South Africa)|The Citizen]] | location =  Johannesburg | date = 31 May 2010 | url= http://www.citizen.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65477&Itemid=34 }}</ref><ref name="IDASA2010">{{Citation | title = Van Zyl Slabbert - Podcasts of Memorial Service in Cape Town | location = Cape Town | date = 28 May 2010 | url = http://www.idasa.org.za/index.asp?page=output_details.asp%3FRID%3D2108%26oplang%3Den%26OTID%3D37%26PID%3D11 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100903022223/http://www.idasa.org.za/index.asp?page=output_details.asp%3FRID%3D2108%26oplang%3Den%26OTID%3D37%26PID%3D11 | archive-date = 3 September 2010 }}</ref>

In 2004, Slabbert was voted 82nd in the [[SABC3's Great South Africans|Top 100 Great South Africans]].

== Works ==
* ''South Africa's Options: Strategies for Sharing'' with David Welsh. London: [[Rex Collings]] (1979). {{ISBN|0-86036-116-0}}
* ''The Last White Parliament: The Struggle for South Africa, by the Leader of the White Opposition''. Sidgwick & Jackson (1986). {{ISBN|0-283-99349-9}}
* ''Comrades in Business: Post-Liberation Politics in South Africa'' with Heribert Adam and Kogila Moodley. Cape Town: Tafelberg Publishers (1998). {{ISBN|0-624-03601-4}}
* ''Tough Choices: Reflections of an Afrikaner African''. Cape Town: Tafelberg Publishers (2000). {{ISBN|0-624-03880-7}}
* ''The Other Side of History: An Anecdotal Reflection on Political Transition in South Africa''. Johannesburg & Cape Town: Jonathan Ball Publishers (2006). {{ISBN|1-86842-250-X}} (Also in Afrikaans as ''Duskant die geskiedenis'', {{ISBN|0-624-04357-6}}.)

===As editor===
*''Youth in the New South Africa: Towards Policy Formulation – Main Report of the Co-Operative Research Programme: South African Youth.''<ref name="vanZylSlabbert1994">{{Citation |editor= Van Zyl Slabbert, F. |editor2=Malan, Charles |editor3=Marais, Hendrik |editor4=Olivier, J.L. |editor5=Riordan, Rory | title= Youth in the new South Africa: towards policy formulation: main report of the Co-operative Research Programme: South African Youth |year=1994 | location= Pretoria | publisher= HSRC Publishers | isbn= 0-7969-1646-2 | url= http://www.hsrc.ac.za/Research_Publication-18105.phtml | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101228155947/http://www.hsrc.ac.za/Research_Publication-18105.phtml | archive-date= 28 December 2010 }}</ref>


==References==
{{Reflist}}

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{{Leaders of the Opposition (South Africa)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slabbert, Frederik Van Zyl}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:Afrikaner anti-apartheid activists]]
[[Category:White South African anti-apartheid activists]]
[[Category:South African anti-apartheid activists]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Cape Town]]
[[Category:Stellenbosch University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Pretoria]]
[[Category:Progressive Party (South Africa) politicians]]
[[Category:Progressive Federal Party politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Assembly (South Africa)]]