Pik Botha

Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha, DMS (27 April 1932 – 12 October 2018) was a South African politician. He served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era.

Roelof Frederik Botha
Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs
In office 27 April 1994 – May 1996
President	Nelson Mandela
Preceded by	George Bartlett
Succeeded by	Penuel Maduna
Deputy Leader of the National Party in Transvaal
In office 1987–1996
Leader	F. W. de Klerk
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 27 April 1977 – 10 May 1994
President	F. W. de Klerk (1989-94) P. W. Botha (1984-89)
Prime Minister	P. W. Botha (1978–84) B.J. Vorster (1966–78)
Preceded by	Hilgard Muller
Succeeded by	Alfred Nzo
Member of Parliament
In office 1977–1994
Constituency	Westdene
In office 22 April 1970 – 1974
Constituency	Wonderboom
South African Ambassador to the United States
In office 30 July 1975 – 11 May 1977
Prime Minister	B.J. Vorster
Preceded by	Johan Samuel Frederick Botha
Succeeded by	Donald Bell Sole
Personal details
Born	(1932-04-27)27 April 1932 Rustenburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Died	12 October 2018(2018-10-12) (aged 86) Pretoria, South Africa
Political party	National
Spouse(s)	Helena Susanna Bosman Ina Joubert m. 27 April 1998
Children	2 sons, 2 daughters
Alma mater	University of Pretoria
Occupation	Diplomat and politician
Profession	Law

Botha was nicknamed 'Pik' (short for pikkewyn, Afrikaans for 'penguin') because of a perceived likeness to a penguin in his stance, accentuated when he wore a suit.^[1]

In 2000, Botha declared his support for Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki.^[2]

Botha died on 12 October 2018 at his home in Pretoria at the age of 86.^[3]

References

1. A smart penguin, Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The Spectator, 7 April 1984, page 9
2. BBC Question Time in South Africa: Who's Who, The Daily Telegraph, 12 December 2013
3. "Former foreign affairs minister Pik Botha dies". Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-12.

Other websites

• South African History Online Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
• South African Who's Who Archived 2008-10-03 at the Wayback Machine