South Africa's F.W. de Klerk feared democracy, says Ramaphosa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sits beside Elita de Klerk, widow of former President FW de Klerk at the state memorial service in Cape Town, South Africa, December 12, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday described the late FW de Klerk as "brave" for defying his party to negotiate an end to white minority rule but also recalled the horrors of the regime he led and his fear of democratic change.

Frederik Willem de Klerk, credited with supervising a peaceful transition from white-minority rule in South Africa to a Black-majority government led by Nelson Mandela, died last month at the age of 85 after battling cancer.