Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert resigns from parliament

Date: 7 Feb 1986
Updated: 20 Jul 2026

Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert resigns from parliament

Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, a staunch opponent of 'separate development' (Apartheid) and leader of the opposition Progressive Federal Party (PFP), resigned as leader of the PFP and as a MP. In his dramatic announcement he stated that he came to the conclusion that Parliament was incapable of bringing about the desired reforms. Slabbert came from an Afrikaner family and studied sociology at the University of Stellenbosch. He published a book, The Last White Parliament, after his resignation. In the book he explains his reasons for resigning and his predictions for South Africa. In 2002, then President Thabo Mbeki appointed him to head a team investigating a new electoral system for South Africa. Slabbert passed away on 14 May 2010.

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How we know this

01Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.
02SAHO, Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, from South African History Online, [online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 22 January 2014]

Last updated · 20 Jul 2026

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert resigns from parliament. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012639

South African History Online (2011) 'Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert resigns from parliament', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012639 (Accessed: 22 July 2026).

South African History Online, Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert resigns from parliament [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012639, (accessed 22 July 2026).

"Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert resigns from parliament." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012639. Accessed 22 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert resigns from parliament." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012639.