Frederik Willem de Klerk was educated at Potchestroom University. He received a law degree and began practicing law in Vereeninging. He became active in the National Party and in 1972, entered the South African Parliament. He served in the cabinets of B.J. Vorster and P.W. Botha. He established a reputation as an ultra-conservative, but when he came to power he began dismantling apartheid. His first move was releasing Nelson Mandela from jail, followed by the legalization of the African National Congress. Together with Nelson Mandela, De Klerk received the Nobel Prize for peace in 1993. Bibliography: Schrire, Robert. Edi Malan to De Klerk : Leadership in the Apartheid State. 1994. St Martins Press. Ottaway, David. Chained Together : Mandela, De Klerk, and the Struggle to Remake South Africa . 1993. Times Books.