On 29 January 1991 a summit meeting was held in Durban between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). The meeting was addressed by Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi and ANC Deputy President Nelson Mandela, this was the first time in 30 years that these two political rivals had met. In a joint statement called the Royal Hotel Minute, both parties expressed their commitment to political tolerance and called on the security forces to play an effective peace-keeping role.
Event record
Buthelezi and Mandela meet and call for cease-fire
- Updated
- 30 Sep 2019

From left, FW de Klerk, Nelson Mandela and Mangosuthu Buthelezi at Davos in 1992.
How we know this
- 01Suzanne, D., (1997), Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa, from the New York Times, 21 August, [online], Available at: .en.wikipedia.org [Accessed: 11 July 2013]
Last updated · 30 Sep 2019
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Buthelezi and Mandela meet and call for cease-fire. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012945
South African History Online (2011) 'Buthelezi and Mandela meet and call for cease-fire', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012945 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
South African History Online, Buthelezi and Mandela meet and call for cease-fire [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012945, (accessed 12 October 2026).
"Buthelezi and Mandela meet and call for cease-fire." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012945. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
South African History Online. "Buthelezi and Mandela meet and call for cease-fire." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012945.
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