Roelof Petrus Meyer (born 16 July 1947) is a South African politician and businessman. Originally a member of the National Party, he is known for his prominent role in the

negotiations Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement ...

to end the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

system in South Africa. He later co-founded the

United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is a centre-left, social-democratic, South African political party, formed by a prominent former National Party leader, Roelf Meyer (who has since resigned from the UDM), a former African National Congress ...

Early life and education

Meyer, the youngest son of Eastern Cape farmer, Hudson Meyer and school teacher Hannah Meyer, née van Heerden, attended school in

Ficksburg Ficksburg is a town situated at the foot of the 1,750 meter high Imperani Mountain in Free State province, South Africa. The town was founded by General Johan Fick in 1867 who won the territory in the Basotho Wars. He laid out many erven and p ...

and studied law at the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in ...

, where he completed B Comm (1968) and

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(1971) degrees. At university, he was president of the conservative "Afrikaanse Studentebond". During his compulsory

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

service, he was a member of the

SADF The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

choir also known as the "Kanaries". Meyer then practised as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

and

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

until 1980.

Politics

In 1979, he entered politics as he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the National Party in the

West constituency. In 1986, he became Deputy Minister of Law and Order and in 1988, of Constitutional Development (until 1991). With the declaration of the first State of Emergency in 1985, the National Joint Management Centre (NJMC), chaired by the Deputy Minister of Law and Order, took over as the nerve centre for co-ordination of all welfare and security policies. In 1991, State President F. W. De Klerk appointed him

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

as successor to

Magnus Malan General Magnus André de Merindol Malan (30 January 1930 – 18 July 2011) was a South African military figure and politician during the last years of apartheid in South Africa. He served respectively as Minister of Defence in the cabinet of P ...

. Allegedly, the "verligte Nat" ("liberal" or "enlightened" NP politician) couldn't win the respect of the generals in this position. In May 1992, after nine months in office, he resigned and became Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Communication as successor to

Gerrit Viljoen Gerrit Van Niekerk Viljoen (11 September 1926 in Cape Town – 29 March 2009) was a South African government minister and member of the National Party. He was chair of the Broederbond from 1974 to 1980, Administrator-General of South West ...

. It was in this position that he entered the negotiating process. He also became the chairman of the Beleidsgroep vir Hervorming (Policy Group for Reform).

Negotiations to end apartheid

Meyer became famous in his position as the government's chief negotiator in the

Multiparty Negotiating Forum The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

1993 after the failure of

CODESA The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

where he established an amicable and effective relationship with the

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

’s chief negotiator,

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

. In this role, he worked closely with

Niel Barnard Lukas Daniel Barnard (born 1949), known as Niël Barnard, is a former head of South Africa's National Intelligence Service and was notable for his behind-the-scenes role in preparing former president Nelson Mandela and former South African pre ...

, who was head of the National Intelligence Service and a strong supporter of a negotiated settlement. After the conclusion of the negotiations in November 1993, he became the government's chief representative in the

Transitional Executive Council The Transitional Executive Council (TEC) was a multiparty body in South Africa that was established by law to facilitate the transition to democracy, in the lead-up to the country's first non-racial election in April 1994. As part of the multi ...

(TEC). Meyer and Ramaphosa received the South African Breweries Leadership and Service Award in 2004. After the multi-racial elections in April 1994, Meyer became Minister of Constitutional Development and Provincial Affairs in the government of national unity of the new President,

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

. His elder brother Anthon "Tobie" Meyer was Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs in this government. He worked once more with Cyril Ramaphosa, who was chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly. Meyer resigned from the cabinet in 1996 and became Secretary-General of the National Party. 1996-97 he was also Chairman of the NP in

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

. After the new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

was negotiated and ratified, the National Party withdrew from the government. He then tried to bring about a reorientation of his party but failed due to the resistance of the conservative wing around Hernus Kriel. Meyer eventually resigned from the National Party, and consequently his seat in Parliament, in 1997.

United Democratic Movement

After he left the National Party, he became, with former

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...

an leader

Bantu Holomisa Bantubonke Harrington Holomisa (born 25 July 1955) is a South African Member of Parliament and President of the United Democratic Movement. Holomisa was born in Mqanduli, Cape Province. He joined the Transkei Defence Force in 1976 and had beco ...

, the co-founder of the

(UDM). In the elections of 1999 the UDM received fourteen seats in Parliament and Meyer served as the Deputy President of the party until his retirement from politics in 2000. In 2006 he announced that he would join the

After politics

Since 2000 Meyer has held a number of local and international positions, including a membership of the Strategy Committee of the Project on Justice in Times of Transition at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

in the USA. He also became the Chairman of the Civil Society Initiative (CSI) of South Africa. Meyer also uses his experience to act as a consultant on international peace processes and negotiations, for example in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. Meyer was awarded the "Order of the Baobab in Silver" by the Republic of South Africa for "his immense contribution in providing special support in the birth of the new democratic South Africa through negotiations". From 2012 to 2014 he chaired the Defence Review Committee. In 2013 Meyer co-founded the non-profit pro-democracy organisation In Transformation Initiative. The organisation has been involved in the South African land issue, as well as facilitating the development of a constitution for Sri Lanka.

References

External links

About his life and career