Botha, Pieter Willem definition of Botha, Pieter Willem in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Botha, Pieter Willem (pē`tər vĭl`əm bō`tə), 1916–2006, South African political leader. An Afrikaner and a member of the right-wing National party, he first entered parliament in 1948. Botha gained prominence as minister of defense (1966–80) and became prime minister in 1978. He initiated a limited reform of apartheid apartheid (əpärt`hīt) [Afrik.
..... Click the link for more information. policies, establishing a new constitution that provided legislative chambers for whites, Coloureds (persons of mixed race), and Asians but excluded the black majority; under it, he became executive president in 1984. While hinting at the possibility of dismantling apartheid, and beginning negotiations with Nelson Mandela Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 1936?–, b. Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela, in 1958. A social worker, she joined the ANC and was her husband's champion while he was in prison, being herself imprisoned and "banned" several times.
..... Click the link for more information. , he promoted the bantustan bantustan, in 20th-century South African history, territory that was set aside under apartheid for black South Africans and slated for eventual independence.
..... Click the link for more information. (homelands) policy, violently repressed dissent, encouraged tribal rivalries within the country, and actively destabilized neighboring nations, particularly those that harbored African National Congress African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black (now multiracial) political organization in South Africa; founded in 1912. Prominent in its opposition to apartheid , the organization began as a nonviolent civil-rights group.
..... Click the link for more information. forces. Reelected in 1987, he resigned over party differences in 1989 and was succeeded by F. W. de Klerk de Klerk, F. W. (Frederik Willem de Klerk) (frĕd`ərĭk vĭl`əm də klûrk`)
..... Click the link for more information. . His 1998 contempt conviction for refusing to testify before the Truth Commission regarding apartheid-era crimes was overturned by an appeals court.

Bibliography

See Fighter and Reformer: Extracts from the Speeches of P. W. Botha (1989); B. Pottinger, The Imperial Presidency: P. W. Botha, the First 10 Years (1988).