The FW de Klerk Foundation is pleased to announce that the late Dr Franklin Sonn will posthumously be awarded the 2025 FW de Klerk Goodwill Award.

Established in 2010, the FW de Klerk Goodwill Award recognises individuals and organisations who have made exceptional contributions to promoting goodwill, reconciliation and unity among South Africans. Past recipients include Dr Danny Jordaan (2011), Mr Pieter-Dirk Uys (2012), Studietrust (2013), Mr Patrice Motsepe (2014), Afrika Tikkun (2015), Prof Thuli Madonsela and the Office of the Public Protector (2016), Mrs Anna (Ans) Botha and Mr Wayde van Niekerk (2017), Gift of the Givers (2018), Mr Moeletsi Mbeki (2019), Ladles of Love (2022), the Khaya Lam Project of the Free Market Foundation (2023) and Dr Johan “Rassie” Erasmus (2024).

The Board of Trustees of the FW de Klerk Foundation had already selected Dr Sonn before his passing. This is in recognition of his lifelong service and outstanding contribution to fostering reconciliation and transformation across South Africa’s political, business and educational spheres. His brave leadership, moral authority and unwavering commitment to constitutional values and the common good have left a profound and enduring legacy. These are also qualities that lie at the heart of the FW de Klerk Goodwill Award.

The FW de Klerk Foundation is dedicated to helping build a just, peaceful and prosperous nation founded on constitutional democracy and the values enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution. Dr Sonn’s life and work strongly resonate with these principles and with the Foundation’s mission. 

The award will be presented at the FW de Klerk Foundation’s flagship annual conference on 3 February 2026, marking the 36th anniversary of President De Klerk’s historic speech of 2 February 1990, which initiated South Africa’s constitutional transformation. Dr Sonn’s family will receive the award on his behalf. 

The conference next year will focus on local government – the government sphere closest to communities and that is constitutionally mandated to render and deliver sustainable essential services. Speakers who have already confirmed their participation to address various themes on local government during the conference includes the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velinkosi Hlabisa, Ms Tsakani Maluleke, the Auditor-General of South Africa, and Dr Ruben Richards, Executive Deputy Mayor at the Cederberg Municipality.