Botha Quits as Leader of Party, Retains Presidency

President Pieter W. Botha, who is recovering from a stroke he suffered two weeks ago, resigned today as the leader of the governing National Party but said he will stay on as the nation’s president.

Botha, 73, told party officials in a letter that he was resigning the party post to concentrate on his presidential duties and to distance the presidency from partisan politics, state radio reported.

The National Party’s parliamentary caucus chose National Education Minister F. W. de Klerk to replace Botha as party leader.

At a news conference in Cape Town today, De Klerk declined to discuss his political agenda. While a conservative, he appears to favor Botha’s policies of limited and gradual reform of apartheid.

The party parliamentary caucus chose De Klerk by a vote of 69 to 61 over Finance Minister Barend du Plessis, who is considered slightly more moderate, said the state-run South African Broadcasting Corp.

Botha became party leader in 1978 when he was elected prime minister. He became president in 1984 under a new constitution that abolished the post of prime minister.

South Africa’s president is selected by the political party that controls Parliament, which opens this year’s session Friday in Cape Town.