Editing Frederik van Zyl Slabbert (section)

==Early life, education and academic career==
Born in [[Pretoria]] to an [[Afrikaner]] family, Slabbert grew up in [[Pietersburg]] (now Polokwane) in northern Transvaal (now the [[Limpopo Province]] of South Africa).<ref name="Citizen2010a"/> He matriculated from Pietersburg's Afrikaans High School in 1958.
After graduating, he studied theology at the [[University of Stellenbosch]] for 18 months before deciding that [[sociology]] was his calling. He completed a BA Honours at the university, and a [[doctorate]] in 1967.<ref name="Citizen2010a"/>

After completing his studies he worked as a [[sociology]] lecturer at Stellenbosch University, [[Rhodes University]] and the [[University of Cape Town]]. In 1973, he was appointed head of the [[sociology]] department of the [[University of the Witwatersrand]].<ref name="Citizen2010a"/>