The last serving apartheid leader, F.W. De klerk has passed away early on Friday morning in his home Fresnaye, Cape Town, South Africa.

85 year old de klerk began to usher in the democratic rule in South Africa in 1990 when he released apartheid prisoners including the late Tata Nelson Mandela.

He vehemently opposed the separation of races in the country but later reconsidered his apartheid ways, making headlines around the world for hailing the rule of apartheid.

He was awarded a Nobel peace prize alongside Nelson Mandela for their joint efforts in rebuilding new South Africa in 1993, even though their relationship was less harmonious.