Pik Botha
| Roelof Frederik Botha | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs | |
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In office 27 April 1994 – May 1996 |
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| President | Nelson Mandela |
| Preceded by | George Bartlett |
| Succeeded by | Penuel Maduna |
| Deputy Leader of the National Party in Transvaal |
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In office 1987–1996 |
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| Leader | FW De Klerk |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 27 April 1977 – 10 1994 May |
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| President | FW De Klerk (1989-94) P. W. Botha (1984-89) |
| Prime Minister | P. W. Botha (1978–84) B.J. Vorster (1966–78) |
| Preceded by | Hilgard Muller |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Nzo |
| Member of Parliament | |
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In office 1977–1994 |
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| Constituency | Westdene |
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In office 22 April 1970 – 1974 |
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| Constituency | Wonderboom |
| South African Ambassador to the United States | |
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In office 30 July 1975 – 11 May 1977 |
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| Prime Minister | B.J. Vorster |
| Preceded by | Johan Samuel Frederick Botha |
| Succeeded by | Donald Bell Sole |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
27 April 1932 Rustenburg, Transvaal Province, Union of South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Political party | National Party |
| Spouse(s) | Helena Susanna Bosman Ina Joubert m. 27 April 1998 |
| Children | 2 sons, 2 daughters |
| Alma mater | University of Pretoria |
| Occupation | Diplomat and politician |
| Profession | Law |
| Religion | Dutch Reformed |
Roelof Frederik "Pik" Botha (born 27 April 1932, in Rustenburg, Transvaal, Union of South Africa) is a former politician from South Africa who served as the country's foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era. He was considered to be a liberal – at least in comparison to others in the ruling National Party and among the Afrikaner community – but the bulk of his career was spent defending South Africa's apartheid system of racial segregation against foreign criticism.
He is not related to the late P. W. Botha, the contemporary National Party politician under whom he served as South Africa's foreign minister.
Botha was nicknamed 'Pik' (short for pikkewyn, Afrikaans for 'penguin') because of a perceived likeness to a penguin in his stance, accentuated when he wore a suit. He is the father of the rock musician Piet Botha economist Roelof Botha and has two daughters Anna Hertzog and artist Lien Botha. His grandson is Roelof Botha, former CFO of PayPal.
At the age of four, Botha was struck by meningitis in Lourenço Marques. He was treated at a small hospital in Barberton, Mpumalanga and his mother vowed that if he survived, he would become a church minister.
Botha attended Paul Kruger Primary School where his father was principal. He excelled in high school, becoming chairman of the debating society, captain of the first rugby team and officer in the school cadets. In his first year at the University of Pretoria, a theologian explained to him that God would not expect him to keep his mother's promise to become a church minister.
Botha began his career in the South African foreign service in 1953, serving in Sweden and West Germany. From 1963 to 1966, he served on the team representing South Africa at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the matter of Ethiopia and Liberia v. South Africa, over the South African occupation of South-West Africa (now Namibia).
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