The word "apartheid" was created in the late 1930s by the South African Bureau for Racial Affairs (SABRA). It was first put into action in 1948, when the Afrikaner National Party gained power under Prime Minister Malan.
After the apartheid was upheld international pressure for the changes of South Africa's racial policies grew, and in October 1989 President de Klerk permitted antiapartheid demonstrations. This was followed in 1990 by the abolition of the Separate Amenities Act, and a new constitution was also promised by the South African government.
In this same year came Nelson Mandela, who was a leading figure in the African National Congress (ANC) in 1964, was released from prison on Feb. 11, 1990 after 27 years and was later elected president. In 1991 the remaining major discriminating laws that supported apartheid were terminated, including the Population Registration Act of 1950.
In February 1993, Mandela and de Klerk agreed to form a government that embodied national unity, despite race or color. The elections were held in April 1994, with the ANC winning 62% of the vote and Mandela becoming president. After Mandelas' win, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth in June 1994, and a committee was set up to start a new nonracial constitution. In 1995 a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was appointed to investigate human-rights abuses that had taken place during the time of the apartheid.
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