LONDON — Donald Woods, a veteran South African newspaper editor and anti-apartheid activist, died Sunday following a long battle with cancer. He was 67.
Woods was the founder and editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper in South Africa. His opposition to apartheid angered authorities and eventually forced him into exile.
He was a close friend of Steve Biko, a leader of South Africa's Black Consciousness movement who died in detention after being tortured by apartheid-era security police. Their relationship was chronicled in the 1987 Richard Attenborough film "Cry Freedom."
Daily Dispatch staff and family members said he died Sunday at the Royal Marsden hospital in Sutton, just south of London.
His eldest daughter, Jane, said inoperable cancer had been found in his liver three weeks ago. A previous bout of cancer two years ago led to the removal of a lung and kidney.
Woods edited the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, when he was gagged by the government and placed under effective house arrest. He escaped in 1978 by disguising himself as a priest and slipping past police guarding his home.
Woods fled to Britain, where he waged a campaign for South African democracy through lecture tours and news articles.
South Africa's High Commissioner in London, Cheryl Carolus, described Woods on Sunday as a "truly great son of South Africa."
"A great life of courage has ended but his spirit lives on with his people," she said.
In 1978, Woods became the first private citizen invited to address the U.N. Security Council. He served as a consultant on South Africa to the European Union and the Commonwealth.
He returned to South Africa in 1990 after 13 years in exile. He continued to live in Britain, but made several visits to his homeland. The last was in May for the wedding of Biko's son, Nkosinathi.
Woods was honored last year by Queen Elizabeth II for his human rights work. Up until his death, he had been working on a project to erect a statue of Nelson Mandela in London's Trafalgar Square, a popular spot for anti-apartheid protests because it neighbored the South African High Commission.
Woods is survived by his wife of 39 years, Wendy, 60, three sons and two daughters.