 After the 1987 elections, the new PFP leader Zach de Beer concluded negotiations with the IP and the NDM to merge into the Democratic Party in 1989, and proceeded to win 36 seats in the elections that year.The DP played a vital role in the negotiation of an interim constitution which includes most of the original progressive principles and ideals.In 1991 Harry Schwarz, one of the party's founders and most prominent leaders was appointed South African Ambassador to the United States, the first opposition member to become an ambassador in South African history.