Netherlands–South Africa relations South African nationals visiting the Netherlands. In February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison after serving 27 years. In June 1990, Nelson Mandela paid his first visit to the Netherlands. In October 1990, South African President F. W. de Klerk paid a visit to the Netherlands. Apartheid legislation was abolished in mid-1991 and on 27 April 1994, South Africa held its first fully democratic election and Nelson Mandela was elected as President. In September 1996, Dutch Queen Beatrix paid an official visit to South Africa and met with President Mandela. In 1999, President Mandela paid an official visit to
HIV/AIDS denialism in South Africa Charlton, the journal's editor, if he did not institute a peer-review process for the journal. Charlton refused, and was therefore fired in May 2010. On October 29, 2009, South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, who had been elected president the previous May, gave a speech which was seen by many as the end of AIDS denialism in South Africa. In the speech, Zuma acknowledged HIV/AIDS as one of South Africa's most serious problems, saying that "...all South Africans need to know their HIV status, and be informed of the treatment options available to them." During Mbeki's presidency, many medical researchers harshly