Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has joined thousands of mourners in expressing his condolences to the family of Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert, who passed away on Friday.
Dr Van Zyl Slabbert died at the age of 70 after spending some time at a Johannesburg Hospital.
President Zuma said Van Zyl Slabbert's visionary leadership lives on in government's efforts to build and strengthen democracy.
"He will be remembered as a principled and patriotic South African, who served his country diligently," President Zuma said.
Former South African opposition leader, political analyst and businessman, Van Zyl Slabbert played a prominent role in the struggle against apartheid and his conventional Afrikaner upbringing did not prevent him from recognising the folly of the apartheid system.
A sociologist by training his academic work brought him into contact with people of other races at the height of apartheid.
This laid the seeds for his opposition to the system, President Zuma noted.
As a Member of Parliament, Dr Van Zyl Slabbert was an outspoken critic of minority rule.
"He will be remembered in particular for his courage and foresight in leading a group of white South Africans to Dakar, Senegal in 1987 for talks with the ANC that proved a critical moment on the path towards a negotiated settlement."
