F.W. de Klerk, Nobel Peace Prize winner and South African President from 1989 to 1994, speaks about democracy and his partnership with Nelson Mandela Monday at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. Lindsey Allgood/The Daily

Former South African president F.W. de Klerk spoke at OU Monday about reforming South African politics, working with Nelson Mandela and the global role of the U.S. today.

“The U.S. can and must lead the world but cannot do it alone,” de Klerk said at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. “You have no idea how your politics affect the rest of the world. The world is paying just as much attention as you are to your election process. They feel they should have a vote.”

De Klerk was president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994. During his presidency, de Klerk overturned South Africa’s apartheid law, released Mandela and other political prisoners and legalized the banned African National Congress and Communist Party, which led to South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994.

“In the end I had to do what I did or else there would be catastrophe to South Africa. We did what we had to do to achieve a sense of justice in South Africa,” de Klerk said.

De Klerk and Mandela earned the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for their joint work in reforming South African politics.

“President de Klerk’s receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize was well deserved recognition of the critical role that he played in bringing democracy and equal rights to South Africa,” said OU President David L. Boren in an e-mail. “His role in bringing a peaceful transition to the presidency of Nelson Mandela required great personal moral courage and is a worthy example to the entire world of what can be achieved when leaders work together.”

One of de Klerk’s most controversial decisions as president was the release of Mandela and the legalization of the African National Congress. Three months before de Klerk released Mandela, the pair met secretly to see if a negotiation process between each other was possible.

“[Mandela] was taller than I had expected, he stood up straight as a board. I realized then Mandela has a presence. He is an impressive man,” de Klerk said.

After hearing about de Klerk’s accomplishments, students said they wanted to learn more about his experiences in South Africa during the early 1990s.

“Anytime someone like a Nobel Peace Prize winner comes to OU, I want to see what they have to say,” said Kjell Sawyer, math and biochemistry senior. “I knew a little about the apartheid and the ANC, but what he said helped me fill in the history and background.”

De Klerk said the world is going through a process of globalization.

“America is the mayor as well as the world’s police force. That role is always unpopular. The U.S. is criticized whatever it does. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. That is the price of being the last surviving superpower,” de Klerk said.

Today South Africa is deemed a “non-racial democracy,” said journalism senior Mark Nehrenz, a Daily columnist and the only OU student studying abroad in South Africa this semester.

Nehrenz said this title should be credited to de Klerk’s reformation of the government.

“It was the steps that de Klerk took, breaking from the racist policies of the past, that started the process of allowing South Africa to be what it is today,” Nehrenz said.