Nobel medal awarded to former South African president stolen

Roubada medalha Nobel atribuída a ex-presidente da África do Sul

The Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded almost 30 years ago to South Africa's last white president, Frederik de Klerk, was stolen from his Cape Town home in April, his foundation said today.

"The Nobel Prize belonging to FW de Klerk was stolen from his home earlier this year," said Brenda Steyn, one of the organization's employees, who clarified that the theft was reported to the police.

According to Steyn, quoted by Lusa, the widow of the former President, Elita Georgiades, suspects that a former employee of the house stole the recycled 18-carat gold object.

Frederik de Klerk, President from 1989 to 1994, who died last year of cancer at the age of 85, shared the prize in 1993 with liberation hero Nelson Mandela.

Precipitating the fall of the racist apartheid regime, de Klerk announced the release of Mandela, then the regime's number one enemy, in an unexpected speech to parliament in 1990.

Hailed abroad for his decisive role in dismantling the segregationist regime that he had supported throughout his political life, de Klerk died without ever having formally apologized for the atrocities committed by white power, something that is criticized by many voices in South Africa.

In 2020, de Klerk publicly declared that apartheid was not a crime against humanity and later apologized for his statement in the midst of the controversy.

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