Priest and academic theologian. As moderator of the NGK (Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerk, Dutch Reformed Church) Heyns sought to lead the church away from its segregated past. He was a Broederbond member, prominent in Afrikaner cultural groups and Dean of Pretoria University's theological faculty. Before the 1994 election he facilitated moves to bring the church and political parties to a consensus on moral and other issues. He was shot dead in his home, by unknown persons, in 1994.