P. W. Botha

Peter William Botha (12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006)^[1] was a Dutch (Afrikaner) politician.

P. W. Botha
Botha in 1962
State President of South Africa
In office 3 September 1984 (1984-09-03) – 15 August 1989 (1989-08-15) Acting until 14 September 1984
Preceded by	Marais Viljoen Non-Executive
Succeeded by	Frederik Willem de Klerk
Prime Minister of South Africa
In office 9 October 1978 (1978-10-09) – 14 September 1984 (1984-09-14)
President	Marais Viljoen Balthazar Johannes Vorster Marais Viljoen
Preceded by	Balthazar Johannes Vorster
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	Pieter Willem Botha (1916-01-12)12 January 1916 Paul Roux, Orange Free State Province, Union of South Africa
Died	31 October 2006(2006-10-31) (aged 90) Wilderness, Western Cape, South Africa
Nationality	South African
Political party	National Party
Spouse(s)	Elize Botha (1943-1997) (her death) Barbara Robertson (1998-2006) (his death)
Children	Rossouw, Pieter Willem, Elanza, Amelia, Rozanne
Profession	Politician

Botha was the last Prime Minister of the country. In 1984 the office was abolished. After that he served as the first State President. During his political career, he was an opponent of Majority rule and Communism.

When he was first elected to parliament in 1948, he was against South African majority rule. In 1992, there was a referendum to allow South African majority rule. In that referendum, Botha campaigned for the No vote. Botha supported apartheid throughout his life.

In 2006, Botha died of a heart attack, aged 90.