AS SEEN IN:
AS PLAYED BY:
Willem Petrus "Willie" Esterhuyse was a university professor active in enlisting other Afrikaners to the anti-apartheid cause when he assumed a role in opening the dialogue between the exiled African National Congress (ANC) and South Africa's apartheid government in the late 1980s.
Esterhuyse detested what he deemed the terrorist actions of the ANC that put civilians in danger as much as he knew that South Africa's government could not continue on its current course. Author of the 1981 book, "Apartheid Must Die", the cool-headed professor was involved not only in the initial talks, but in convincing parties to come back to the table when negotiations had stalled.
Esterhuyse subsequently became an advisor to Thabo Mbeki, ANC president Oliver Tambo's representative at the talks who went on to be president of South Africa. Esterhuyse retired from Stellenbosch University in 2006. He continues to speak about the challenges facing present day South Africa and is writing a book about trust and confidence-building in bridging the racial divide.
(And that concludes our look at the "Endgame" players....)