October 3, 1986: Senate, 78 to 21, Overrides Reagan’ - S Veto and Imposes Sanctions on South Africa

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 — The Senate voted today to override President Reagan’s veto of legislation imposing stiff economic sanctions on South Africa. In doing so it rejected his pleas for support as he prepares to meet Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the Soviet leader, in Iceland.

The vote was 78 to 21, or 12 votes more than the two-thirds vote necessary to override. Since the House also voted to rebuff the President earlier this week, the sanctions bill became law as soon as the Senate voted to override the President’s veto.

The vote today capped a two-year effort by opponents of apartheid to force the Reagan Administration into exerting more pressure on the Pretoria Government to change its policies of racial separation. The legislation will ban all new investment by Americans in South African businesses; prohibit the importation of such products as steel and coal from South Africa, and will cancel landing rights in the United States for South African airlines.

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Senator Richard G. Lugar, the Indiana Republican who heads the Foreign Relations Committee and was the chief sponsor of the measure, appealed in emotional terms to Pretoria to heed the action taken by Congress.

”As a friend of that Government we are saying wake up!” he said.