Marike de Klerk

Marike de Klerk
First Lady of South Africa
In office 15 August 1989 – 10 May 1994
Preceded by	Anna Elizabeth Botha
Succeeded by	Graca Machel
Personal details
Born	17 November 1937(1937-11-17) Pretoria, South Africa
Died	4 December 2001(2001-12-04) (aged 64) Cape Town, South Africa
Nationality	South African
Political party	National Party
Spouse(s)	Frederik Willem de Klerk
Children	Jan de Klerk, Willem de Klerk, Susan de Klerk
Alma mater	Potchefstroom University
Religion	Dutch Reformed Church

Marike de Klerk (17 November 1937, Pretoria - 4 December 2001, Cape Town, South Africa) was the First Lady of South Africa, as the wife of President Frederik Willem de Klerk, from 1989 to 1994, as well as a politician of the governing National Party in her own right.

Mr FW de Klerk and Marike de Klerk divorced in 1998. She was murdered in 2001.

Biography

Personal life

Marike was born into a relatively privileged Afrikaans family. Her father, Wilhelm Willemse, was an academic and writer. He was Professor of Social Pathology and Psychology at University of Pretoria.

Marike met her future husband, F.W. de Klerk, at Potchefstroom University (where she was studying for a degree in commerce). The couple later married and adopted three children together; Jan, Willem, and Susan.

F.W. de Klerk and Marike de Klerk were married for 39 years before divorcing in 1998. Mr. de Klerk remarried a week later.

In 2000 she faced further emotional upheaval when her relationship with her fiance and businessman Johan Koekemoer, collapsed. When the media revealed that he was facing impending bankruptcy, Marike de Klerk defended her fiance, but soon after he faced a nervous breakdown and checked into a Pretoria clinic.

In the later years of her life, she battled depression.

Career

During her husband's presidency, Marike was the leader of the National Party's women's wing.

In 1993, she was awarded the Woman for Peace Award in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1993, for promoting the well being and development of rural women.

She later wrote and released two books. In A Journey Through Summer and Winter she explored her marriage of 39 years with FW de Klerk. Later in A Place Where the Sun Shines Again she offered guidance to women facing divorce later in life.

Murder

On 4 December 2001, Marike de Klerk was murdered in her Cape Town apartment.

In May 2003, former security guard, Luayanda Mboniswa was convicted of her murder. ^[1]

Her murder led to many high-profile figures speaking out. South African president Thabo Mbeki remarked that she was a "strong, charming and dignified woman".. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela stated that "As a woman, I can identify with the exhaustion of her emotional resources in shaping her former husband's career,".

Her former husband, FW de Klerk released a statement: "I have learned with great shock and sorrow of the circumstances of the tragic death of my former wife Marike."

References

1. ^ BBC NEWS | Africa | De Klerk killer 'gets life'

External links

• Profile: Marike de Klerk
• Guard guilty of de Klerk murder
• Marike de Klerk
• SABC obituaries
• Former SA first lady murdered

Persondata
Name	De Klerk, Marike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	17 November 1937
Place of birth	Pretoria, South Africa
Date of death	4 December 2001
Place of death	Cape Town, South Africa