One of the most influential white politicians in modern South Africa, Rolf Meyer, has announced he's quitting politics.

Mr Meyer, a former National Party member of parliament under apartheid, went on to help found the multi-racial democratic movement - the UDM - in the post-apartheid era.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he led the behind-the-scenes negotiations with the then-banned African National Congress.

Mr Meyer contested last year's elections as the UDM's deputy leader but it failed to make a major impact on South African politics. Mr Meyer said he would now devote himself to the development of civil society in South Africa.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service