Pioneer reformer, Pieter Botha, dies in 'sullen obstinacy'

Most analysts at the time believed that if it were not for Botha, Ian Douglas Smith's rebel Rhodesian regime would have collapsed within weeks following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on 11 November 1965.

The international community condemned the rebellion and the United Nations (UN) duly imposed comprehensive sanctions on the Smith regime with British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, declaring that the rebels would be brought to their knees "in a matter of weeks".