The career of Pieter W. Botha was instrumental in the successful movement toward peaceful political change in South Africa. Botha led the National Party (NP) government as its prime minister from 1978 to 1989. When he took office he was aware that the oppressive quality of apartheid passed on by his predecessor would ultimately lead to an eruption that would destroy the NP and white dominance in South Africa. As a result, he began to institute reforms that opened doors of power to nonwhites and rescinded decades-old rules forbidding black labor organizations, mixed marriage, common use of facilities and representation in parliament. Meanwhile, the tyrannical demeanor that enabled him to implement reforms split the NP, encouraged more liberal white attitudes and increasingly alienated both domestic and international allies.
