The F.W. de Klerk Foundation confirmed in a statement that the former president died at his home in Cape Town.
The statement read: “Former President F.W. de Klerk died peacefully at his home in Fresnaye earlier this morning following his struggle against mesothelioma cancer.”
The F.W. de Klerk Foundation said the family would make an announcement in the future regarding funeral arrangements.
De Klerk was born into an influential Afrikaner family from Johannesburg in March 1936 and worked as a lawyer before entering politics.
De Klerk is known for overseeing the end of the racist white rule in South Africa and for helping dismantle the policy of apartheid.
De Klerk became leader of the National Party, which had promoted racial segregation in the country, in 1989 de Klerk became President after Pieter Botha resigned from the position.
He went on to open negotiations with representatives of the Black community and won a bitterly-contested election where he pledged to end apartheid.
The last white President of South Africa later announced the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990, after the campaigner spent 27 years in prison, and removed bans on political parties such as the African National Congress (ANC).
De Klerk was a joint recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Mandela in 1993.
However, he remains a controversial figure in South Africa, with many blaming him for failing to stop violence toward Black citizens during his time as leader.
Actress Pearl Thusi said in a Twitter post: “If F.W. de Klerk gets a state funeral…That will be a huge middle finger to the people who suffered under the apartheid regime in this country.”
Last year, de Klerk apologized for “quibbling” over whether apartheid should be considered a “crime against humanity.”
