The Inner Circle

In The Inner Circle, Jan Heunis reflects on the twilight years of white rule in South Africa through incisive portraits of key individuals, such as Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, PW Botha, Hernus Kriel, Kobie Coetsee, Dennis Worrall and Roelf Meyer, as well as accounts of events such as the signing of the Nkomati Accord, PW Botha’s Rubicon speech and the CODESA negotiations. He reveals many behind-the-scenes stories, both professional and personal, and describes how the National Party was eventually outmanoeuvred in negotiations with the ANC as South Africa emerged from the darkness of half a century of Nationalist rule. The son of National Party politician and Cabinet minister Chris Heunis, Jan Heunis was not himself a politician, but his position as Chief State Law Adviser in the State President’s Office under PW Botha gave him a unique insight into the events of the period. He later played an influential role in the multi-party negotiations that led to the Constitution of 1996.