South Africa's last white president, FW de Klerk, is stable in a Cape Town hospital after complications following surgery for colon cancer.
A spokesman said he had received get well messages from fellow Nobel prize winners, ex-President Nelson Mandela and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Mr de Klerk has had a lung infection and a tracheotomy since his surgery.
A hospital spokeswoman said: "Doctors are satisfied with his progress and treatment is being continued."
After coming to power in 1989, Mr De Klerk ended the apartheid policies of his National Party, unbanned the African National Congress and freed Mr Mandela from prison, paving the way for a peaceful democratic transition.
He served as deputy president after the first all-race vote in 1994 and retired from politics in 1997.
(BBC)
<< Back