The last white president of South Africa, F.W. de Klerk, has released a “final message” apologizing for the discriminatory system of apartheid imposed on the nation’s people of color. The video, released hours after de Klerk’s peaceful death on Thursday morning, showed the gaunt and shaky former president in his home. “I, without qualification, apologize for the pain and hurt and the indignity and the damage that apartheid has done to Black, brown, and Indians in South Africa,” he said. “I do so not only in my capacity as the former leader of the National Party, but also as an individual.”

De Klerk, who shares a Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela, acknowledged he upheld the system of white minority rule as a younger minister. “In my heart of hearts,” he said in the video, “I realized that apartheid was wrong.” In his message, de Klerk also expressed concerns for the country’s future, saying, “I’m deeply concerned about the undermining of many aspects of the Constitution, which we perceive almost day to day.” South Africa’s “road forward is a difficult one,” de Klerk concluded, adding he believed in the ability of “all the reasonable people” to come together and “fulfill the tremendous potential that South Africa has.”