The South African Party was a small political party in South Africa from 1977 to 1980.
82-619: The United Party was a political party in South Africa. It was the country's ruling political party between 1934 and 1948. The United Party was formed by a merger of the majority of Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog 's National Party with the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts , along with remnants of the Unionist Party . Its full name was the United National South African Party , but it
164-479: A national referendum on Apartheid in 1992 for the White population alone that asked them if they supported the government's policy to end apartheid and establish elections open to all South Africans: a large majority voted in favour of the government's policy. In the 1994 elections , it expanded its base to include many non-Whites, including significant support from Coloured and Indian South Africans. It participated in
246-478: A political party in South Africa from 1914 to 1997, which was responsible for the implementation of apartheid rule . The party was an Afrikaner ethnic nationalist party, which initially promoted the interests of Afrikaners but later became a stalwart promoter and enactor of white supremacy , for which it is best known. It first became the governing party of the country in 1924. It merged with its rival,
328-853: A South African civic nationalist party, and after the fall of apartheid in 1994, attempted to become a moderate conservative one. The party's reputation was damaged irreparably by perpetrating apartheid, and it rebranded itself as the New National Party in 1997 before eventually dissolving in 2005. Beginning in 1948 following the general election , the party as the governing party of South Africa began implementing its policy of racial segregation , known as apartheid (the Afrikaans term for "separateness"). Although White-minority rule and racial segregation were already in existence in South Africa with non-Whites not having voting rights and efforts made to encourage segregation, apartheid intensified
410-796: A backtrack as the Statute of Westminster resolved that British Dominions could not have "total" control over their external concerns, but in 1934 the Status and Seals Acts were passed, granting the South African Parliament even greater power than the British government over the Union. The extreme NP members of the 1930s were known collectively as the Republikeinse Bond. The following organisations, parties and events promoted
492-610: A member of the British Commonwealth. When this was granted the following year by the London Declaration , It roused much debate in South Africa between the pro-republican NP and the anti-republican UP (under Strauss). It meant that, even if South Africa did become a republic, it did not automatically have to sever all of its ties with the UK and the British Commonwealth. This gained the movement further support from
574-561: A proliferation of right-wing parties siphoned off important segments of its traditional voter base. Throughout its reign, the party's support came mainly from Afrikaners , but other White people were courted by and increasingly voted for the NP after 1960. By the 1980s, however, in reaction to the "verligte" reforms of P. W. Botha , the majority of Afrikaners drifted to the Conservative Party of Andries Treurnicht , who called for
656-641: A republic before changing its mind and deciding that it was too early. The Afrikaner Broederbond , a secret organization founded in 1918 to support the interests of Afrikaners in South Africa, soon became a powerful force in the South African political scene. The Republican Bond was established in the 1930s, and other republican organisations such as the Purified National Party , the Voortrekkers , Noodhulpliga (First-Aid League) and
738-600: A republic outside the Commonwealth. His decision was received with regret by the Prime Ministers of the UK, Australia and New Zealand but was met with obvious approval from South Africa's critics. Verwoerd said the next day that the move would not affect South Africa's relationship with the United Kingdom. On his homecoming, he was met with a rapturous reception. Afrikaner nationalists were not deterred by
820-522: A return to the traditional policies of the NP. In the 1974 general elections for example 91% of Afrikaners voted for the NP; however, in the 1989 general elections, only 46% of Afrikaners cast their ballot for the National party. South African Party (1977) It was formed by six self-described centrist MPs who had been expelled from the United Party on 19 January 1977 for refusing to accept
902-468: A segregated nation. The United Party held a 100,000-vote lead. Consequently, the NP had to rely on the Afrikaner Party's support. It did not, therefore, have the groundswell of public support that it needed to win a referendum, and only when it had that majority on its side could a referendum be held on the republican matter. However, with a small seating majority and a total vote-tally minority, it
SECTION 10
#1732775644610984-787: A sentiment rooted in Boer history. Beginning in 1836, waves of Boers began to migrate north from the Cape Colony to live beyond the reach of the British colonial administration . Eventually, the migrating Boers founded three republics in southern Africa: the Natalia Republic , the South African Republic and the Orange Free State . British colonial expansion in the 19th century led to the annexation of
1066-565: The Herenigde Nasionale Party (Reunited National Party), which went on to defeat Smuts' United Party in 1948 in coalition with the much smaller Afrikaner Party . In 1951, the two amalgamated to once again become known simply as the National Party. Upon taking power after the 1948 general election , the NP began to implement a program of apartheid – the legal system of political, economic and social separation of
1148-545: The 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in London to discuss South Africa becoming a republic within the Commonwealth, presenting the Republic of South Africa 's application for a renewal of its membership to the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth had earlier declined to predict how republican status would affect South Africa's membership; it did not want to be seen meddling in its members' domestic affairs. However, many of
1230-902: The Natalia Republic by Britain and the First and Second Boer Wars , which resulted in the South African Republic and the Orange Free State being annexed into the Empire as well. Despite Britain's victory in the Second Boer War, Afrikaners resisted British control in southern Africa. In 1914, a group of anti-British Afrikaners led the Maritz rebellion against the Union of South Africa during World War I ; two years later, an NP congress called for South Africa to become
1312-538: The Parliament of South Africa . The White minority of South West Africa, predominantly Germans and Afrikaners, considered its interests akin to those of the Afrikaners in South Africa and therefore supported the National Party in subsequent elections. These reforms bolstered the NP politically, as they removed Black and Coloured influence – which was hostile to the NP – from the electoral process and incorporated
1394-550: The "Lion of the North", Strijdom made few changes to his cabinet and pursued with vigour the policy of apartheid. By 1956, he successfully placed the Coloureds on a separate voters' roll, thus further weakening ties with the Commonwealth and gaining support for the NP. He also took several other steps to make South Africa less dependent on Britain: Anti-republican South Africans recognised the shift and distancing from Britain, and
1476-544: The 1919 Paris Peace Conference was a definite (if failed) attempt to gain independence. In 1926, however, the Balfour Declaration was passed, affording every British dominion within the British Empire equal rank and bestowing upon them their right of the direction of foreign issues. This resulted the following year in the institution of South Africa's first-ever Department of Foreign Affairs. 1931 saw
1558-572: The ANC and other anti-apartheid movements. In September 1990 the party opened up its membership to all racial groups and rebranded itself as no longer being an ethnic nationalist party only representing Afrikaners, but would henceforth be a civic nationalist and conservative party representing all South Africans. However, there was significant opposition among hardliner supporters of apartheid that resulted in De Klerk's government responding to them by holding
1640-430: The British government was no longer prepared to stand by South Africa's racist policies. Nevertheless, the referendum was a significant victory for Afrikaner nationalism as British political and cultural influence waned in South Africa. However, one question remained after the referendum: would South Africa become a republic outside the Commonwealth (the outcome favoured by the most Afrikaner nationalists)? Withdrawal from
1722-569: The Common Roll of Cape Province in 1953. Instead of voting for the same representatives as White South Africans, they could now vote only for four White representatives to speak for them. Later, in 1968, the Coloureds were disenfranchised altogether. In the place of the four parliamentary seats, a partially elected body was set up to advise the government in an amendment to the Separate Representation of Voters Act . This made
SECTION 20
#17327756446101804-488: The Commonwealth would likely alienate English speakers and damage relations with many other countries. Former British colonies such as India, Pakistan and Ghana were all republics within the Commonwealth, and Verwoerd announced that South Africa would follow suit "if possible". In January 1961, Verwoerd's government enacted legislation to transform the Union of South Africa into the Republic of South Africa. The constitution
1886-533: The Conference's affiliates (prominent among them the Afro-Asia group and Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker ) attacked South Africa's racial policies and rebuffed Verwoerd's application; they would go to any lengths to expel South Africa from the Commonwealth. Numerous anti-apartheid movements also campaigned for South Africa's exclusion from the UK. Some member countries warned that they would pull out of
1968-591: The English-speaking populace, which was less worried about being isolated, and the republican ideal looked closer than ever to being fulfilled. Although he could not make South Africa a republic, Malan could prepare the country for this eventuality. In his term of office, from 1948 to 1954, Malan took several steps to break ties with the UK: The 1953 ballot votes saw the NP fortify its position considerably, winning comfortably but still falling well short of
2050-604: The Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurverenigings (Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Organisations) also came into being. There was a widespread outpouring of nationalist sentiment around the 1938 centenary of the Great Trek and the Battle of Blood River . It was seen to signify the perpetuation of white South African culture, and anti-British and pro-republican feelings grew more assertive. It was obvious in political circles that
2132-525: The Government of National Unity between 1994 and 1996. In an attempt to distance itself from its past, the party was renamed the New National Party in 1997. The attempt was largely unsuccessful and the new party decided to merge with the ANC. The National Party was founded in Bloemfontein in 1914 by Afrikaner nationalists soon after the establishment of the Union of South Africa . Its founding
2214-485: The Hertzog government worked to undermine the vote of Coloureds (South Africans of mixed White and non-White ancestry) by granting the right to vote to White women, thus doubling White political power. In 1934, Hertzog agreed to merge his National Party with the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts to form the United Party . A hardline faction of Afrikaner nationalists led by Daniel François Malan refused to accept
2296-418: The NP was to move all Black South Africans into one of these homelands (although they might continue to work in South Africa as "guest workers"), leaving what was left of South Africa (about 87 per cent of the land area) with what would then be a White majority, at least on paper. As the apartheid government saw the homelands as embryonic independent nations, all Black South Africans were registered as citizens of
2378-569: The NP-led government had South Africa leave the Commonwealth, abandon its monarchy led by the British monarch and become an independent republic. The party's system of apartheid was officially labelled a crime against humanity by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966. During the 1970s and 1980s, the NP-led white apartheid government faced internal unrest in South Africa and international pressure for
2460-505: The NP-led government led by P. W. Botha and the outlawed ANC led by then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela began in 1987 with Botha seeking to accommodate the ANC's demands and consider releasing Mandela and legalising the ANC on the condition that it would renounce the use of political violence to attain its aims. F. W. de Klerk declared in February 1990 the decision to permit the release of Mandela from prison and ending South Africa's ban on
2542-763: The NRP was in decline and its base absorbed by parties formed by NP dissidents; these merged with the PFP in 1989 to form the Democratic Party which is now the Democratic Alliance , thus reuniting the currents that originated in the United Party. National Party (South Africa) The National Party ( Afrikaans : Nasionale Party , NP ), also known as the Nationalist Party , was
United Party (South Africa) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2624-506: The National Party, it never clearly articulated its views on the best approach to them. Smuts himself alluded to the fact that at some unspecified point in the future, black South Africans might be asked to share power with the white minority, provided black politicians demonstrated their commitment to 'civilised' norms of political and personal conduct. Generally, though, the UP seemed to have little difficulty in tacitly supporting apartheid . One of
2706-711: The Progressive Party to form the Progressive Reform Party (PRP). In 1977, after merging with the Democratic Party , which had been formed by moderate NP dissidents, the United Party was renamed the New Republic Party . A significant number of its parliamentarians refused to remain with the renamed party. Some joined the anti-apartheid PRP (now called the Progressive Federal Party ). Six MPs were expelled from
2788-512: The Republican ideal in the 1930s: There was some confusion about the republican ideal during the war years. The Herenigde Nasionale Party , with Hertzog its leader, pushed the issue into the background. After Hertzog left the party, however, it became republican. In 1942 and 1944, D. F. Malan introduced a motion in the House of Assembly in favour of the establishment of a republic, but this
2870-459: The SAP supported the government during the 1979 Muldergate Scandal . On 13 June 1980, SAP leader John Wiley announced that his party was disbanding and that its three MPs were joining the ruling National Party . Wiley served as Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in P.W. Botha 's government, and was the only cabinet minister of English descent, until his death in 1987 of a gunshot wound to
2952-486: The SAP, during the Great Depression , and a splinter faction became the official opposition during World War II and returned to power. With the National Party governing South Africa from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994 , the country for the bulk of this time was only a de jure or partial democracy, as from 1958 onwards non-white people were barred from voting . In 1990, it began to style itself as simply
3034-635: The UK. South Africa now had its first independent constitution. However, the only real constitutional change was that the State President, in charge for seven years, would assume the now-vacant position of the Queen as Head of State. C. R. Swart , the State President-elect, took the first republican oath as State President of South Africa before Chief Justice L. C. Steyn (DRC). Although White inhabitants were generally happy with
3116-432: The UP grew increasingly anxious, doing all it could to persuade Parliament to retain Commonwealth links. Strijdom, however, declared that South Africa's participation (or otherwise) in the Commonwealth would be determined only by its best interests. The question of apartheid dominated the 1958 election, and the NP took 55% of the vote, thus winning a clear majority for the first time. When Strijdom died that same year, there
3198-509: The Union of South Africa was headed inevitably towards republicanism. Although it remained a Dominion after unification in 1910, the country was granted increased amounts of self-government ; indeed, it already had complete autonomy on specific issues. It was agreed in 1910 that the South African government would look after domestic matters but that the country's external affairs would remain British-controlled. Hertzog's trip to
3280-557: The United Party for refusing to accept the plan to form the NRP and formed the South African Party which joined the ruling National Party three years later. Elections in late 1977 left the New Republic Party gutted, with only 10 parliamentary seats, down from the 41 held by the United Party. The UP's position on race relations in South Africa was a complex one; while the UP was more liberal in character than
3362-491: The United Party lost the 1948 election to the National Party. It never held power again. J. G. N. Strauss succeeded Smuts in 1950, and was in turn replaced by Sir de Villiers Graaff in 1956 until 1977. Attrition characterised his leadership years, as the party slowly declined because of electoral gerrymandering , changes to South Africa's voting laws, including the removal of the ' Coloureds ' – South Africans of mixed ancestry, who had been staunch United Party supporters – from
United Party (South Africa) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3444-633: The United Party. Further resignations followed, which included two senators, ten members of the Transvaal Provincial Council, 14 out of the 36 Johannesburg City Councillors and four Randburg City Councillors. This made it the official opposition in the Transvaal Provincial Council. They formed the Reform Party which elected Schwarz as leader. Schwarz's breakaway led to the demise of the United Party and realigned opposition politics in South Africa. The Reform Party soon merged with
3526-544: The accommodation of non-Whites in South Africa. It resulted in policies of granting concessions to the non-White population while still retaining the apartheid system, such as the creation of Bantustans that were autonomous self-governing Black homelands (criticised for several of them being broken up into unconnected pieces and that they were still dominated by the White minority South African government), removing legal prohibitions on interracial marriage, and legalising certain non-White and multiracial political parties (excluding
3608-606: The anniversary of several historical events, the 1902 Treaty of Vereeniging, which ended the Anglo-Boer War; South Africa's becoming a union in 1910; and the first hoisting of the Union flag in 1928. The Afrikaner republican dream had finally come to reality. The significance of Commonwealth withdrawal turned out to be less than expected. It was not necessary for South Africa to amend its trading preferences, and Prime Minister Macmillan reciprocated Verwoerd's assurance that withdrawal would not alter trade between South Africa and
3690-407: The apartheid era. Its popular vote record was more mixed: While it won the popular vote with a comfortable margin in most general elections, the NP carried less than 50% of the electorate in 1948, 1953, 1961, and 1989. In 1977, the NP got its best-ever result in the elections with the support of 64.8% of the White voters and 134 parliamentary seats out of 165. After this, the party's consent declined as
3772-473: The clear majority it sought: it had 94 seats in parliament to the UP's 57 and the Labour Party's five. Malan retired in 1954 at the age of eighty. The two succession contenders were J. G. Strijdom (Minister of Lands and Irrigation) and Havenga (Minister of Finance). Malan personally preferred the latter and, indeed, recommended him. Malan and Strijdom had clashed frequently over the years, particularly on
3854-411: The conflict would be unacceptable to Afrikaner opinion. He also claimed to not see much benefit for South Africa taking part in a war that Hertzog claimed was essentially a European affair. The majority of the United Party caucus were of a different mind, however, and Hertzog resigned. Smuts succeeded him and led the party and the country throughout World War II and the immediate post-war years. Smuts and
3936-469: The country's political future and to the maintenance of separate group identities under white leadership with the rejection of power-sharing at every level. The party contested the 1977 general election and won three seats in the House of Assembly , however, Streicher was defeated in his Cape Town constituency of Wynberg . John Wiley became the party's new leader following the election. In parliament,
4018-498: The electoral rolls, and defections to other parties such as the Progressive Party , which was formed in 1959 by liberal former UP members that sought a stronger opposition to apartheid. Despite this, the party remained relatively stable until the 1970s. There was much division in the party, between liberals and conservatives . Divisions came to a head in 1972 when Harry Schwarz , leader of the liberal "Young Turks" within
4100-457: The electorate entirely White, as Indian South Africans had never had any representation. In a move unrecognised by the rest of the world, the former German colony of South West Africa (now Namibia ), which South Africa had occupied in World War I , was effectively incorporated into South Africa as a League of Nations mandate , with seven members elected to represent its White citizens in
4182-568: The establishment of a republic in the whites-only referendum held on 5 October 1960. By the late 1970s, the breakaway and successor groups of the United Party – the Progressive Federal Party, New Republic Party and South African Party – were more or less committed to a multiracial federation as a solution to the racial question. The ruling National Party's reform program under PW Botha initially attracted some liberal support while provoking divisions within its ranks. By 1987,
SECTION 50
#17327756446104264-416: The foundations for residential segregation in urban areas. Apartheid laws passed by the NP after 1948 included the 'Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act', the 'Immorality Act', the 'Population Registration Act', and the 'Group Areas Act', which prohibited non-white males from being in certain areas of the country (especially at night) unless they were employed there. The NP strongly advocated republicanism ,
4346-589: The government by advocating a "two-stream" policy of equal rights for the English and Afrikaner communities. Afrikaner nationalists in the Transvaal and Cape provinces soon followed suit, so that three distinct provincial NP organisations were in existence in time for the 1915 general elections . The NP first came to power in coalition with the Labour Party in 1924, with Hertzog as Prime Minister . In 1930
4428-424: The head. Wiley's death remains an unsolved case, although suicide had not been ruled out. His son, Mark Wiley, is a Democratic Alliance legislator in Western Cape province. Streicher was returned to the House of Assembly in 1981 as a National Party MP. He served from 1986 to 1989 as deputy minister of transportation and from 1994 to 1997 chairman of the National Party caucus in parliament. This article about
4510-448: The homelands, not of the nation as a whole, and were expected to exercise their political rights only in the homelands. Accordingly, the three token parliamentary seats reserved for White representatives of Black South Africans in the Cape Province were scrapped. The other three provinces – Transvaal Province , the Orange Free State Province , and Natal Province had never allowed any Black representation. Coloureds were removed from
4592-498: The ills of apartheid. Commonwealth members were determined to isolate South Africa. There were numerous internal factors which had paved the way for and may be viewed as influences on the result: The opposition accused Verwoerd of trying to break from the Commonwealth and the West, thus losing South Africa's trade preferences. The NP, however, launched a vigorously enthusiastic political campaign with widely advertised public meetings. The opposition found it very difficult to fight for
4674-406: The merger and maintained a rump National Party called the Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party ( Purified National Party ). The Purified National Party used opposition to South African participation in World War II to stir up anti-British feelings amongst Afrikaners. This led to a reunification of the Purified Nationalists with the faction that had merged with the South African Party; together, they formed
4756-524: The organisation unless South Africa were expelled. Verwoerd disregarded the censure, arguing that his Commonwealth cohorts had no right to question and criticise his country's domestic affairs. On this issue, he even had the support of his parliamentary opposition. Thus, on 15 March 1961, ostensibly to Britain an awkward decision and causing a split within the Commonwealth, but more likely to avoid further condemnation and embarrassment, Verwoerd withdrew his application and announced that South Africa would become
4838-467: The party won 126 out of the 170 seats in Parliament. By 1960, however, much of the South African electorate called for withdrawal from the Commonwealth and establishing South Africa as a republic. It was decided that a republican referendum was to be held in October. International circumstances made the referendum a growing necessity. In the aftermath of the World War II , former British colonies in Africa and Asia were gaining independence and publicising
4920-434: The party's decision to accept the Marais plan to create a new united opposition party, which became the New Republic Party . The six constituted themselves as the Independent United Party. The party renamed itself the South African Party (SAP) and elected MP Myburgh Streicher as its leader at its founding conference held in Pretoria on 27 and 28 May 1977. The new party committed itself to a federal or confederal solution to
5002-413: The party, wrestled the leadership of the party in the Transvaal from Marais Steyn. His victory was a visible sign of strength from the liberals within the party. On 4 January 1974, he met with Mangosuthu Buthelezi and signed a five-point plan for racial peace in South Africa, which came to be known as the Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith. It was the first occasion in apartheid South Africa's history where
SECTION 60
#17327756446105084-432: The preservation of British links. There were numerous pro-republican arguments: There were also numerous arguments against the establishment of a republic: On 5 October 1960, 90.5% of the White electorate turned out to vote on the issue. 850,458 (52%) voted in favour of a republic, while 775,878 were against it. The Cape, Orange Free State and Transvaal were all in favour; Natal, a mainly English-speaking province,
5166-399: The principles of peaceful transition and equality had been enshrined in a document which had been jointly signed by acknowledged black and white political leaders in South Africa. The declaration, however provoked an angry response from the conservative "Old Guard" in the party, including the party's leader. In 1975 Harry Schwarz and three other Members of Parliament (MPs) were expelled from
5248-531: The pro-nationalist Whites of South-West Africa. The NP increased its parliamentary majority in almost every election between 1948 and 1977. Numerous segregation laws had been passed before the NP took power in 1948. Among the most significant were the 'Natives Land Act, No 27 of 1913', and the 'Natives (Urban Areas) Act of 1923'. The former made it illegal for Blacks to purchase or lease land from Whites except in reserves, which restricted Black occupancy to less than eight percent of South Africa's land. The latter laid
5330-464: The question of whether a republican South Africa should be inside or outside the Commonwealth. Strijdom, however, had the support of Verwoerd and Ben Schoeman , and he was eventually voted in as Prime Minister. Strijdom was a passionate and outspoken Afrikaner and republican who wholeheartedly supported apartheid. He was completely intolerant towards non-Afrikaners and liberal ideas, utterly determined to maintain White rule with zero compromise. Known as
5412-499: The races intended to maintain and extend political and economic control of South Africa by the White minority. The party's actions made South Africa for the most part a pariah state across the world. Apartheid was officially labelled a crime against humanity by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966. In 1959 the Bantu Self-Government Act established so-called Homelands (sometimes pejoratively called Bantustans ) for ten different Black tribes. The ultimate goal of
5494-415: The radical political movements elsewhere in Africa as vindication of his belief that White and Black nationalism could not work within the same system. Verwoerd also presented the NP as the party best equipped to deal with the widely perceived threat of communism. By the end of his term (caused by his assassination), Verwoerd had solidified the NP's domination of South African politics. In the 1966 elections
5576-409: The reasons the UP lost the 1948 election was its lack of commitment to a clear policy on race relations. This stood in contrast to the National Party, which was firmly and unequivocally behind the notion of preserving white supremacy at all costs. The UP was against apartheid as a system, but also favoured the continuation of white minority rule , akin to the political arrangements in Rhodesia at
5658-437: The relinquishment of Commonwealth membership, for they regarded the Commonwealth as little more than the British Empire in disguise. They believed that South Africa and the United Kingdom had absolutely nothing in common, and even UP leader Sir De Villiers Graaff praised Verwoerd for his handling of the situation. On 31 May 1961, South Africa became a republic. The date was a significant one in Afrikaner history, as it heralded
5740-405: The republic, united in their support of Verwoerd, the Blacks defiantly rejected the move. Nelson Mandela and his National Action Council demonstrated from 29 to 31 May 1961. The republican issue would strongly intensify resistance to apartheid. In October 1961, Verwoerd appointed the National Party's two first English-speaking ministers. The NP won most parliamentary seats in all elections during
5822-418: The segregation with stern penalties for non-Whites entering into areas designated for Whites-only without having a pass to permit them to do so (known as the pass laws ), interracial marriage and sexual relationships were illegal and punishable offences. Black people faced significant restrictions on property rights . After South Africa was condemned by the British Commonwealth for its policies of apartheid,
5904-481: The time. During the late 1960s, the party tried to gain support by its resistance to the National Party's politics on giving land to the bantustans , insisting on a single citizenship for all South Africans. By the 1970s, the UP advocated federalism and a gradual retreat from official segregation and discrimination. The party supported links with the Commonwealth of Nations , and unsuccessfully campaigned against
5986-474: The very popular African National Congress (ANC), which the government still viewed as a terrorist organisation). Those identified as Coloureds and Indian South Africans were granted separate legislatures in 1983 alongside the central legislature that represented Whites to provide them self-government while maintaining apartheid, but no such congress was supplied to the Black population as their self-government
6068-590: Was a tripartite succession contest between Swart, Dönges and Verwoerd. The latter, devoted to the cause of a republican South Africa, was the new Prime Minister. Verwoerd, a former Minister of Native Affairs, played a leading role in the institution of the apartheid system. Under his leadership, the NP solidified its control over South African apartheid-era politics. To gain the support of the English-identified population of South Africa, Verwoerd appointed several English speakers to his cabinet. He also cited
6150-429: Was defeated. When the NP came to power in 1948 (making it the first all-Afrikaner cabinet since 1910), there were two uppermost priorities that it was determined to fulfil: Between 1948 and 1961, Prime Ministers D. F. Malan , J. G. Strijdom and Hendrik Verwoerd all worked very hard for the latter, implementing a battery of policies and changes in a bid to increase the country's autonomy. Divided loyalty, they felt,
6232-636: Was finalised in April. It merged the authority of the British Crown and Governor-General into a new post, State President of South Africa . The State President would have relatively little political power, serving more as the ceremonial head of state. The political power was to lie with the Prime Minister (head of government). The Republic of South Africa would also have its monetary system, employing Rand and Cents. In March 1961, Verwoerd visited
6314-479: Was generally called the "United Party". The party drew support from several different parts of South African society, including white English-speakers, Afrikaners and Coloureds . Hertzog led the party until 1939, when he refused to commit South Africa to the British Empire's war effort against Nazi Germany after World War II broke out. Most Afrikaners were hostile to the British and sympathetic towards Nazi Germany, and Hertzog felt that supporting Britain during
6396-573: Was holding South Africa back. They wanted to break the country's ties with the United Kingdom and establish a republic, and many South Africans grew confident that a republic was possible. Unfortunately for its republicans, the NP was not in a strong parliamentary position. Although it held a majority (only five) of seats, many of these were in rural constituencies, which had far fewer voters than urban constituencies. Malan appealed to many rural voters due to his agricultural policy, meaning black workers relied on white farmers for work, fuelling his quest for
6478-469: Was impossible for now for Malan and his ardently republican Nats to bring about a republic constitutionally. In the interim, the NP would have to consolidate itself and not antagonise the British. Many English speakers did not want to break their ties with the United Kingdom. However, in 1949, at the 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in London (with Malan in attendance), India requested that, despite its newly attained republican status, it remain
6560-523: Was not. It was a narrow victory for the republicans. However, a considerable number of Afrikaners did vote against the measure. The few Blacks, Indians and Coloureds allowed to vote were decidedly against the measure. English speakers who voted for a republic had done so on the condition that their cultural heritage be safeguarded. Many had associated a republic with the survival of the White South Africans. Macmillan's speech illustrated that
6642-476: Was rooted in disagreements among South African Party politicians, particularly Prime Minister Louis Botha and his first Minister of Justice, J. B. M. Hertzog . After Hertzog began speaking out publicly against the Botha government's "one-stream" policy in 1912, Botha removed him from the cabinet. Hertzog and his followers in the Orange Free State province subsequently moved to establish the National Party to oppose
6724-495: Was to be provided through the Bantustans. The NP-led government began changing laws affected by the apartheid system that had come under heavy domestic and international condemnation, such as removing the pass laws, granting Blacks full property rights that ended previous significant restrictions on Black land ownership, and the right to form trade unions. Following escalating economic sanctions over apartheid, negotiations between
#609390