BEYOND DIPLOMACY, my life of remarkable transitions and the moments that made the difference, foreword by Ton Vosloo

318pp., b/w & colour illus., paperback, Pretoria, 2022

Memoir by diplomat, business executive, culnsultant and academic Riaan Eksteen.

Eksteen started working as a young diplomat under Hendrik Verwoerd. Under B.J. Vorster, P.W. Botha, F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, he served as an ambassador to several countries and to the United Nations in New York and Geneva. He was involved in South Africa’s handling of South West Africa and was appointed as the first ambassador to an independent Namibia in 1990. He was Director-General of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (1983-1988). Since 2016 Eksteen has worked in the academic sphere and as a political consultant.

"From the vantage point of an active participant in various capacities, Riaan Eksteen chronicles the events, issues and personalities that helped to shape South Africa's foreign relations and domestic politics over five decades. He makes a vital contribution to the country's recorded diplomatic history and also provides fascinating insights into the political machinations of both the old and new South Africa." Professor Deon Geldenhuys, Emeritus Professor of Politics and International Relations, University of Johannesburg