Frederik van Zyl Slabbert

Frederik van Zyl Slabbert (born in 1940) is a politician afrikaner of South Africa, former chief of the liberal parliamentary opposition under the mode of Apartheid.

Born the March 2nd 1940 with Pretoria, it made its schooling in full country afrikaner, in the north of the Transvaal to Pietersburg.

Captain of the team of Rugby and that of Cricket, it began his studies at the university of Witwatersrand before continuing them at the university afrikaner Stellenbosch with an aim of becoming Pasteur of the Dutch reformed church (NGK).

In 1962, it is selected in the provincial team of Rugby of the Western Province.

Graduate of Sociology in 1964 after having given up his studies of Theology, Slabbert worked initially at the department sociology of the university of Stellenbosch.

In 1965, it married Mana Jordaan of which it will have 2 children.

In 1967, it supplements its doctorate and in 1969, settles with Grahamstown to teach sociology with the Université of Rhodos.

In 1970, it returns in Stellenbosch and in 1972, takes the head of a department of research at the university of Wraps-Town then that of the university of Witwatersrand.

Thanks to its research in sociology allowing of the contacts with the blacks, Slabbert is invested little by little in policy and develops liberal ideas in opposition with the mode of apartheid.

In 1974, Slabbert agrees to present in the district of Rondebosch to the general elections under the colors of the small liberal Parti Progressist (PP). Against any waiting, it triumphantly carries it on the candidate of the national Parti (NP) with more than 1600 votes in advance. It joined Helen Suzman at the Parliament and will be re-elected in 1977 and 1981.

Become an eminent member of PP, it takes part in the ideological development anti apartheid of what becomes the Parti Federal Progressist (PFP).

In 1979, Slabbert succeeds Colin Eglin and becomes chief of the official opposition at the Parliament, posts that it will keep until in 1986, year when it resigns of his parliamentary mandate not to guarantee one Parliament more but it judges illegitimate.

In 1987, it undertakes contacts with ANC then prohibited, which lead to the Conférence of Dakar, organized by the IDASA (Institute for has Democratic South Africa) which it directs.

Divorced in 1983, Slabbert was remarié in 1984. It is today a business man and an political analyst.

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