Frederik Willem de Klerk, who was the last white president of South Africa, died Thursday after a long battle with cancer, a spokesman said.
"Former President FW de Klerk died peacefully at his home in Fresnaye earlier this morning following his struggle against mesothelioma cancer", an official statement from his foundation read.
The late president was the one in charge of major reforms, as he released revolutionary Nelson Mandela after 27 years of imprisonment in 1990, oversaw the cancellation of apartheid, and the transition of power to a majority government led by Mandela in 1994.
Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa".