P. W. Botha

Staatspresident P. W. Botha DMS
Botha in 1962
6th State President of South Africa
In office 3 September 1984 (1984-09-03) – 14 August 1989 (1989-08-14) Acting until 14 September 1984
Preceded by	Marais Viljoen (ceremonial State President) Himself (as Prime Minister)
Succeeded by	Christiaan Heunis (acting) Frederik Willem de Klerk
8th Prime Minister of South Africa
In office 9 October 1978 (1978-10-09) – 14 September 1984 (1984-09-14)
President	Johannes Vorster Marais Viljoen
Preceded by	Johannes Vorster
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister of Defence
In office 30 March 1966 – 28 April 1981
Prime Minister	Hendrik Verwoerd Johannes Vorster Himself
Preceded by	Jacobus Johannes Fouché
Succeeded by	Magnus Malan
Minister of Community Development and Coloured Affairs
In office 8 October 1961 – 30 March 1966
Prime Minister	Hendrik Verwoerd
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Willem Adriaan Maree
Member of the South African House of Assembly from George
In office 1948 (1948)–1958 (1958)
Personal details
Born	Pieter Willem Botha (1916-01-12)12 January 1916 Paul Roux, Orange Free State, Union of South Africa
Died	31 October 2006(2006-10-31) (aged 90) Wilderness, Western Cape, Republic of South Africa
Political party	National Party (1946–1990)
Spouses	Anna Elizabeth Rossouw ​ ​ (m. 1943; died 1997)​ Barbara Robertson ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	Rossouw, Pieter Willem, Elanza, Amelia, Rozanne
Alma mater	Grey University College
Profession	Politician
Signature

Pieter Willem Botha, DMS (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈpitər ˈvələm ˈbuəta]; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006) was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president of South Africa from 1984 to 1989.

First elected to Parliament in 1948, Botha was an opponent of black majority rule and international communism. However, his administration did make concessions towards political reform, whereas internal unrest saw widespread human rights abuses at the hands of his government. Botha resigned as leader of the ruling National Party (NP) in February 1989 after suffering a stroke and six months later was also coerced to leave the presidency.

In F. W. de Klerk's 1992 apartheid referendum, Botha campaigned for a No vote and denounced De Klerk's administration as irresponsible for opening the door to black majority rule. In early 1998, when Botha refused to testify at the Mandela government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), he was supported by the Conservative Party, which had earlier contested his rule as the official opposition. For his refusal, he was fined and given a suspended jail sentence.^[1] The sentence was overturned on appeal.^[2]