Four years after the unbanning of the liberation movements and release of political prisoners, SA held its first multi-racial elections. The elections resulted in the establishment of the new Government of National Unity (GNU) led by the African National Congress (ANC). Three parties, the ANC (who won the election), the National Party (NP), and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) shared the executive power. Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president of South Africa. The GNU system of government lasted until the general elections in 1999. References: Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau. http://www.andibradley.com/whatya/apr26.htm http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2898.htm

Lesotho's Deputy Prime Minister, Selometsi Baholo, is shot dead by dissident soldiers during an apparent kidnapping attempt. They also seize four cabinet ministers, Shakhane Mokhehle, Monyane Moleleki, Pakalitha Mosisili and Kelebone Maope in the mutiny over a planned government probe into the army. Parliament, whose members probably fear for their own safety, adjourns immediately. Lesotho's President Mokhehle appeals for South African intervention, but his request is turned down. Despite South Africa's refusal of military assistance, South African Defence Force (SADF) is asked to contact its Lesotho counterparts to urge them to keep the situation calm for fear of a military coup or the imposition of sanctions on the tiny kingdom by the international community. http://www.andibradley.com/whatya/apr14.htm http://edition.cnn.com/almanac/9804/14/

The inter-racial Women's National Coalition (WNC) Conference (25-27 February 1994), started in the World Trade Centre, Kempton Park. The conference focused primarily on the drafting of a Women's Charter and the future of the Women's National Coalition. The Women's Charter was adopted on the last day of the conference. The final Charter was prefaced with an 'Important Note' stating that 'while the Women's Charter has been adopted by the WNC ...the women's organisations which are part of the WNC retain their freedom to reserve their position on particular clauses with which they do not wish to associate themselves.'

After emerging as an independent country following French colonization, Ivory Coast came under the leadership of Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Known as the father of independence, he had formed the first agricultural trade union for African farmers. He established a strong relationship with the French government, which promoted the increase of the French population on Ivory Coast. Houphouët-Boigny ruled Ivory Coast autocratically, refusing press freedom and the establishment of any other political parties. He also spent exorbitant amounts of money on the transformation of his home village. At independence, Ivory Coast was one of the most prosperous countries in French West Africa, but by the 1980s was crippled by world-wide recession and Houphouët-Boigny's reckless spending. As the country's external debt rose threefold, crime rose dramatically in the capital, Abijan. By 1990, a strike of civil servants and students led to the establishment of a multiparty democracy. Houphouët-Boigny passed away in 1993 and was succeeded by Henri Konan Bédié. Alassane Ouattara, who served as the prime minister under Bédié, had previously worked in a number of financial institutions and was said to have promoted principles that were economically sound. After a power struggle with Bédié, who excluded Outarra from running for the presidency on the basis of his ethnicity, Outarra resigned from his post. On 17 December 1993, Daniel Kaplan Duncan became the prime minister of Ivory Coast, and praised Outarra for his economic policy of privatization and austerity. He remained the prime minister until the military coup in 1999.

Afrikaner Volksfront flag A new coalition made up of twenty-one right wing parties, known as Afrikaner National Front (Afrikaner Volksfront or AVF) was founded by several former leaders of the South African Defence Force (SADF). Gen. Constant Viljoen was elected as the leader of the movement. The AVF was founded as result of mounting right wing resistance to the multi party negotiation process held at Kempton Park.

The South African Defence Force's (SADF) 31st Battalion was disbanded at a public ceremony in the Cape Province. This Battalion was composed primarily of the San (Bushmen) battalion who had been deployed in South African townships and who fought in the war in Namibia. President F. W. de Klerk announced that it would be disbanded as part of the efforts to end violence in South Africa, as they were allegedly involved in vigilante activities across the country. The Battalion allegedly dispersed trained killers. The 1,000 soldiers were to be transferred to other units in the Northern Cape and would help patrol the Namibian border. The 31st Bushman Battalion was relocated, along with 32 Battalion, in South Africa.

In a historic move, Wilhelm Verwoerd, grandson of former South African Prime Minister, Hendrik Verwoerd, main architect of apartheid, joins the African National Congress. Wilhelm Verwoerd risked being alienated by his family and friends for his decision. He was not even welcome at Stellenbosch, the town he grew up as he was called a traitor of Afrikanerdom and the belief of his grandfather. His wife Melanie Verwoerd was a card-carrying member of the ANC even before he joined the organisation. His main aim of joining was to reconcile with, and embrace the people his grandfather made to suffer because of their political ideologies, while hoping that his contribution within the ANC will be welcomed. Click here to read more on how Wilhelm Verwoerd overcame historic past and his joining of the ANC

Thirty-one years after being expelled, South Africa had its membership of the Football International Federation Association (Fifa) reinstated on 3 July 1992. In 1956, the South African government introduced its first racist policy on sport. Previous to this, in keeping with pre-apartheid segregation, leagues had been divided according to race. Now Black-owned football clubs were officially not recognised as equal members with White-owned clubs. Earlier, in May 1955 a Fifa emergency committee had ruled that the South African Football Association (SAFA), representing only the White minority, was not a 'real national association'. A 1956 Fifa commission of inquiry upheld this decision. The Commission of Inquiry accepted however, SAFA's argument that the racial separation of sport was South Africa's 'tradition and custom'. Fifa's preferred approach was to encourage SAFA to merge with the South African Soccer Federation (SASF), which represented Black football clubs. However, SAFA was determined to maintain its racial policy and exclude all other races from representing South Africa in international sports. SAFA managed to retain its membership of Fifa by renaming itself Football Association of Southern Africa (FASA) and removing all its racial clauses from the constitution. FASA also used co-option to get membership of Black clubs to support its claim that it was a non-racial association. Direct government intervention to keep racial separation in sports drove Fifa to put more pressure on the South African government by threatening that it would be suspended from the organisation if it does not stop intervening in football. In 1958 more pressure was put on the South African government to deracialise sport but the government remained unmoved by the growing international pressure against apartheid sport. This international hostility was demonstrated when the Brazilian football club Portuguesa withdrew from playing against an all-White South African football Durban team. The South African government had insisted that the Portuguesa team should drop its Black players. The team decided to boycott the game rather than comply with the South African apartheid policies. In 1959 Fifa issued an ultimatum that the South African football association should end racial discrimination within twelve months. In 1961, South Africa was expelled from Fifa. The Black community and the anti-apartheid movement welcomed the decision. In 1963, South Africa was re-admitted to Fifa but it was expelled once more after proposing to send an all-White national team to play in the England 1966 World Cup and a Black national team to play in Mexico 1970 world cup. South Africa was readmitted to the international soccer body for the second time in July 1992. The reinstatement of South Africa was motivated by the government of South Africa's release of all political prisoners and the open negotiation process of all political parties in South Africa. The other and earlier development, which probably encouraged Fifa to drop its suspension of South Africa, was the opening of a united non-racial South African Football Association (SAFA). In the light of international recognition, the new SAFA organised a post isolation match with the Cameroonian national team. On the 7th of July 1992 South Africa hosted its first international match after international isolation. References: Alegi, P. (2004). Laduma! Soccer, Politics and Society in South Africa, Pietermaritzburg: University of Kwazulu-Natal Press. History of South African soccer [Online]. Available at: news24.com/ [accessed 02 July 2010] Alegi, P.C. 2004. Entertainment, Entrepreneurship, and Politics in South African Football in the 1950s [Online]. Available at: wiserweb.wits.ac.za/ [accessed 02 July 2010]

Following a visit to Nigeria by the state president, F.W. de Klerk, and his foreign minister Roelof "Pik" Botha a number of other African countries announced their willingness to improve their diplomatic relations with South Africa. Djibouti lifted all trade and travel restrictions it had imposed on South Africa, whilst Cote d'Ivore announced the establishment of full diplomatic relations, making it the second African country after Malawi to exchange ambassadors.

African National Congress (ANC) Deputy President Nelson Mandela stated that his party was prepared to abandon its long-held policy of nationalisation if the business community could provide an alternative which would redress the economic imbalances in the country. He further stated that nationalisation did not mean that the private sector would be excluded from certain areas of business, and said that the ANC welcomed dialogue with the business sector to ensure growth and equal distribution. Two days later the ANC released a report which recognised the important role of foreign investment and reassured foreign corporations that they would be free to take their profits out of the country under an ANC government