1993 - A New Constitution

Mandela and De Klerk, who both wanted to reach a peaceful solution to South Africa’s problems, met with representatives of most of the country’s political organizations, with a mandate to draw up a new constitution.

Mandela and De Klerk finally reached a peaceful agreement on South Africa’s future at the end of 1993, an achievement for which they jointly received the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. The new constitution, which was to take effect immediately after South Africa’s first election by universal suffrage, scheduled for April 1994, enfranchised all citizens, 18 and older, abolished the homelands, and divided the country into nine new provinces, with provincial governments receiving substantial powers. It also contained a long list of political and social rights and a mechanism through which Blacks could regain ownership of land taken away under Apartheid.