Louis Pienaar
Louis Alexander Pienaar was a South African lawyer and diplomat. He was the last white Administrator of South-West Africa, from 1985 through Namibian independence in 1990. Pienaar later served as a minister in F W de Klerk's government until 1993. He married Isabel Maud van Niekerk on 11 December 1954.
Diplomat
In the early 1980s, Louis Pienaar was assigned to Paris as South Africa's ambassador to France.Namibia
On 1 July 1985, Pienaar was appointed by the National Party government to be the Administrator-General of South-West Africa, a territory that the United Nations Security Council called Namibia and which United Nations [Security Council Resolution 435|UNSC Resolution 435] of 1978 declared was being administered illegally by South Africa. Two years after AG Pienaar's appointment, when prospects for Namibian independence seemed to be improving, UN Commissioner for Namibia, Bernt Carlsson, was appointed. Upon South Africa's relinquishing control of Namibia, Commissioner Carlsson's role would have been to take over the administration of the country on behalf of the UN, formulate its framework constitution, and organise free and fair elections based upon a non-racial universal franchise.Serious negotiations
In May 1988, a United States mediation team – headed by Chester A. Crocker, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs – brought negotiators from Angola, Cuba, and South Africa, and observers from the Soviet Union together in London. Later in May, at the Reagan/Gorbachev summit in Moscow, it was decided that Cuban troops would be withdrawn from Angola, and Soviet military aid would cease, as soon as South Africa withdrew from Namibia. The New York Accords – agreements to give effect to these decisions – were drawn up for signature at UN headquarters in New York City in December 1988. Cuba, South Africa, and the People's Republic of Angola agreed to a total Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola. This agreement – known as the Brazzaville Protocol – established a Joint Monitoring Commission with the US and the Soviet Union, as observers, to oversee implementation of the accords. A bilateral agreement between Cuba and Angola was signed at UN headquarters on 22 December 1988. On the same day, a tripartite agreement between Angola, Cuba and South Africa was signed, whereby South Africa agreed to hand control of Namibia to the United Nations.Transition to independence
UN Security Council adopted resolution 632 on 16 February 1989, requiring that implementation of UNSCR 435 should officially start on 1 April 1989. AG Pienaar, under the supervision of UN Special Representative, Martti Ahtisaari, who arrived in Windhoek in April 1989, to head the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, began Namibia's transition to independence. The transition got off to a shaky start, because contrary to SWAPO leader Sam Nujoma's written assurances to the UN Secretary-General to abide by an agreed cease-fire and repatriate from Angola only unarmed Namibians, the South Africans alleged that approximately 2,000 armed members of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia, SWAPO's military wing, crossed the border from Angola in an apparent attempt to establish a military presence in northern Namibia. Under pressure from AG Pienaar and South Africa's foreign minister Pik Botha, UNTAG's Martti Ahtisaari took advice from the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who was visiting Southern Africa at the time, and authorised a limited contingent of South African troops to aid the South West African Police in restoring order. A period of intense fighting followed, during which 237 PLAN fighters and 27 South Africans were reported to have been killed.Actions by AG Pienaar
On 7 April, AG Pienaar announced that he was unilaterally suspending the independence process, but his decision was quickly repudiated by Pik Botha.On 11 April, he stated, that contrary to previous undertakings, UNTAG and the South African security forces had "agreed that PLAN soldiers would be interrogated in order to verify the suspected number of infiltrators". Botha overruled AG Pienaar's statement saying "there is no question of interrogation".
On 22 May, AG Pienaar proclaimed AG 11 of 1989: "Establishment and Powers of the Commission for the Prevention and Combatting of Intimidation and Electoral Malpractices". On 8 June, AG 14 of 1989 was proclaimed: "First Law amendment ".
On 12 June, AG Pienaar declared a general amnesty against prosecution for all Namibians living abroad, and repealed or amended 46 discriminatory laws.
Following complex negotiations with UNTAG concerning electoral voting procedures, AG Pienaar proclaimed AG 19 of 1989: "Registration of Voters " on 30 June. Registration of voters began on 4 July, and AG Pienaar published a draft proclamation on the election process on 21 July. UNTAG was concerned by this draft, insisting that political party agents should be present at the polling stations and at the counting of the votes. In this way, the Namibian people could be reassured that the voting would be free and fair. The South African side opposed the idea, indicating their determination to dominate the constitution-making process and retain control for as long as possible.
On 13 October, AG Pienaar proclaimed AG 49 of 1989: "The Holding of an Election for a Constituent Assembly".