Pieter Willem Botha

Described in his obituary in The Guardian as "one of the most evil men of the 20th century", P.W. Botha was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1978 until 1984 and State President from 1984 until 1989. Under his rule, South Africa was a pariah in the world, Botha continuing to defend the white rule system of apartheid in spite of international pressure and increasingly damaging sanctions imposed on the country. While he did make some concessions to reform of apartheid, such as legalizing mixed race sex and marriages in 1985, he proved a consistent obstacle to the release of Nelson Mandela, the world's most famous prisoner. In 1989, Botha was forced out of office and replaced by the more moderate F.W. de Klerk, who within a few months had released Mandela and begun negotiations to remove apartheid and give black people full political representation, which would ultimately lead to the first multi-racial elections in 1994.