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Born on August 27, 1928, he was viewed by many as a collaborater with the Apartheid regime as he tried to work with it through the IFP. He was leader of the now defunct semi-independent Bantustan of KwaZulu.
Jealous of the role given to the African National Congress in negotiations about post-Apatheid South Africa's constitutional structure, Buthelezi at first refused to participate in the first democratic South African elections in 1994. However the violence caused by this decision turned opinion inside the IFP around and they registered to participate in the election at the last minute.
In May, 1994 Buthelezi was appointed Minister of Home Affairs in the first post-Apartheid government, a position he continued to hold following the 1999 elections.