Developments at the FW de Klerk Foundation

4 December 2023

The FW de Klerk Foundation is very pleased to announce that it has appointed Christo van der Rheede as its new Executive Director, with effect from 15 January 2024. 

At the end of September, Mr Van der Rheede retired as the Chief Executive Officer of AgriSA – where he had served as CEO and Deputy CEO since 2015. He previously held the positions of CEO of the Afrikaanse Handelsinstitutuut (AHI), between  2012 – 2015, and the Small Business Association, between 2005 – 2011. Between 1986 and 2005, he was an educator and school principal with the Western Cape Department of Education. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy Analysis, Administration and Public Leadership (MPA) from the University of Stellenbosch (2005).

At a board meeting on 1 December, Dave Steward, Chairperson of the FW de Klerk Foundation - who has also been acting as the Foundation’s Executive Director since January 2022 - announced his decision to retire as Chairperson. The Board elected Mrs Elita de Klerk, the former Vice Chairperson, as the new Chairperson and Mrs Christina Teichmann as Vice Chairperson. The Board thanked Dave Steward for his service and asked him to continue his association with the Foundation as Chairperson Emeritus.

Dave Steward established the Foundation with FW de Klerk in June 1999 and has served as its Executive Director and Chairperson since then. He said that after 24 years the time had come to hand over the leadership of the Foundation to a new generation. He added that he was very happy with the current orientation, performance and viability of the Foundation and wished Elita de Klerk and Christo van der Rheede every success in leading the organisation into the future in its core tasks of defending the Constitution, promoting reconciliation and dialogue, and preserving the legacy of FW de Klerk. 

Issued by FW de Klerk Foundation, 4 December 2023