William Groenewald Louwrens Janse van Rensburg (April 10, 1939 - August 9, 2008), referred to as 'Willie' was the mayor

Mayor of Johannesburg

The Mayor of Johannesburg is the chief executive of the City Council and the highest elected position in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. The current mayor of the city is Parks Tau.- List of Mayors :* Parks Tau * Amos Masondo...

 of the city of Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, from 1990 to 1991.

Born to an Afrikaans family on a farm in the northern Free State

Free State

The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...

 he spoke fluent Zulu

Zulu language

Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...

and was known for his sense of humour and exceptional relationships with people of all races.

His wife Marie still resides in Johannesburg.