Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the white-minority government in South Africa between 1948 and 1994. It classified people into racial groups and deprived non-whites of citizenship, political representation, and access to equal education, healthcare, public services and facilities. As opposition grew and became violent in response, the government increased repression. Reforms in the 1980s failed to quell mounting opposition and apartheid was ended through negotiations led by Nelson Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president after multi-racial democratic elections in 1994.