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| South African ex-President FW de Klerk's Nobel Peace Prize medal stolen | South African ex-President FW de Klerk's Nobel Peace Prize medal stolen |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| FW de Klerk won the prize alongside Nelson Mandela in 1993 for their efforts to end the apartheid system | FW de Klerk won the prize alongside Nelson Mandela in 1993 for their efforts to end the apartheid system |
| The Nobel Peace Prize medal of South Africa's former President FW de Klerk was stolen from his home in April, his foundation has confirmed to the BBC. | The Nobel Peace Prize medal of South Africa's former President FW de Klerk was stolen from his home in April, his foundation has confirmed to the BBC. |
| It did not give further details, but local media reported it was taken during a robbery at his Cape Town home. | It did not give further details, but local media reported it was taken during a robbery at his Cape Town home. |
| Mr De Klerk won the prize alongside Nelson Mandela in 1993 for their efforts to end the apartheid system. | Mr De Klerk won the prize alongside Nelson Mandela in 1993 for their efforts to end the apartheid system. |
| South African media reported police have not made any arrests or recovered the medal. | South African media reported police have not made any arrests or recovered the medal. |
| Speaking to local news website News24, Mr De Klerk's widow, Elita, said she returned home from a trip abroad to find the safe in her home "nearly empty". | Speaking to local news website News24, Mr De Klerk's widow, Elita, said she returned home from a trip abroad to find the safe in her home "nearly empty". |
| "I realised that we were robbed in April of this year. On 5 April, I went to the safe and the safe was open. I had returned from an overseas trip on the fourth, so I remember the dates. Unfortunately, the safe was nearly empty," she said. | "I realised that we were robbed in April of this year. On 5 April, I went to the safe and the safe was open. I had returned from an overseas trip on the fourth, so I remember the dates. Unfortunately, the safe was nearly empty," she said. |
| "A lot of my jewellery was taken - it is difficult to put a price to it, as the pieces that were taken were given to me over the last 50 years for occasions, plus I had pieces that I inherited from my mother," she added. | "A lot of my jewellery was taken - it is difficult to put a price to it, as the pieces that were taken were given to me over the last 50 years for occasions, plus I had pieces that I inherited from my mother," she added. |
| She said she was not hopeful that the stolen items would be recovered. | She said she was not hopeful that the stolen items would be recovered. |
| Alongside Mr Mandela, South Africa's first black president, Mr De Klerk, who died in 2021, was awarded the prize along with the 18-carat gold medal in 1993. | Alongside Mr Mandela, South Africa's first black president, Mr De Klerk, who died in 2021, was awarded the prize along with the 18-carat gold medal in 1993. |
| Mr De Klerk became president in 1989 but handed power to Mr Mandela five years later, marking the end of white-minority rule in South Africa and the beginning of the democratic era. | Mr De Klerk became president in 1989 but handed power to Mr Mandela five years later, marking the end of white-minority rule in South Africa and the beginning of the democratic era. |
| He died almost exactly a year ago at the age of 85 after having been diagnosed with mesothelioma - a cancer that affects the lining of the lungs. | He died almost exactly a year ago at the age of 85 after having been diagnosed with mesothelioma - a cancer that affects the lining of the lungs. |
| At the current price for 18-carat gold, in weight terms the medal would cost around $7,300 (£6,400), but it is worth far more. | |
| In June, Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, the co-winner of the prize in 2021, auctioned his medal for $103.5m to raise funds for Ukrainian child refugees. | |
| In 2014, US scientist James Watson's Nobel medal was auctioned for $4.8m. A year earlier, the medal of British scientist Francis Crick was auctioned for $2.27m. | |
| The two, along with Maurice Wilkins, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for discovering the structure of DNA. |