Balthazar Johannes Vorster, non-executive president of South Africa, resigned on 4 June 1979 after only eight months in office (he had previously been prime minister for 12 years). Ill health and the on-going exposure of the 'Information Scandal' were given as the reason for his departure. The scandal, known as Muldergate after the Minister of Information Dr Connie Mulder, involved the use of government resources being used to create propaganda for the Apartheid regime - it was alleged that an estimated 64 million rand was earmarked to bribe international news agencies, the purchase of the Washington Star newspaper, and the creation of a government controlled newspaper, the Citizen.