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
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa has continued to rise since then. Two black South Africans have been called as mission presidents. One, Jackson MKabela, was called to serve as mission president in Zimbabwe. He had previously been an area seventy and his wife Dorah had been a member of the Young Women General Board. Mkabela had become the first black man to serve as a stake president in South Africa in 2005. The other, Thabo Lebethoa, was called to preside over the South Africa Cape Town Mission. He was serving as stake president of the Soweto Stake at the time of his call. Zimbabwe, which