Apartheid-Era South African Minister Dies At 86

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Roelof "Pik" Botha, the last foreign minister of South Africa's apartheid era and a contradictory figure who staunchly defended white minority rule but recognized that change was inevitable, died on Friday at age 86.

Botha died in "the early hours of the morning" at his home after an illness, his son, also named Roelof, told South Africa's eNCA news outlet.

Internationally, Botha was the most visible representative of apartheid at the height of protests and sanctions against the racist rule that ended with Nelson Mandela's election as the first black president in 1994.