Andries Treurnicht

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Andries Treurnicht
MP
Ferdinand Hartzenberg
Minister of Public Works, Statistics and Tourism
In office
1979–1980
Leader of National Party in Transvaal
In office
1978–1982
Deputy Minister of Plural Relations and Development
In office
1978–1979
Deputy Minister of Education and Training
In office
1978–1979
South African Member of Parliament
In office
1971–1993
ConstituencyWaterberg
Chairman of the Afrikaner Broederbond
In office
1972–1974
Preceded byMeyer, P.J.
Succeeded byViljoen. G.
Personal details
Born(1921-02-19)19 February 1921
Piketberg, Cape Province, South Africa
Died22 April 1993(1993-04-22) (aged 72)
Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa
Political partyConservative
Other political
affiliations
National (1971-1982)
SpouseEngela Deyer
Children4 daughters[1]

Andries Petrus Treurnicht (19 February 1921 – 22 April 1993) was a South African politician, Minister of Education during the

Transvaal. In 1982 he founded and led the Conservative Party of South Africa whose successes among the white electorate made him Leader of the Opposition
in 1987, a position he retained until his death.

Early life

Treurnicht was born in

University of Stellenbosch, he completed a Doctorate in Political Philosophy at the University of Cape Town. He subsequently entered the Dutch Reformed Church (NG Kerk), serving various congregations as minister for fourteen years. He was elected Deputy Chairman of the Cape Synod and later of the General Synod. He combined Afrikaner nationalism with neo-Calvinism and strongly supported the continuation of apartheid.[1]

National Party career

Entering politics in 1970, as a member of the

Transvaal, and, in 1979, he became Minister of State for Administration and of Statistics. He was chairman of the Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) from 1972 -1974. He had to leave the AB in 1983, as the newly formed Conservative Party members were not welcome in it.[1]

Conservative Party career

On 20 March 1982, he and 22 other MPs quit the National Party to form the

P.W. Botha and the National Party's limited reforms to apartheid. The CP's English language programme booklets from 1987 to 1989 stated that the party was established "to continue the policy of self-determination after the [NP] government had exchanged self-determination" (something the CP described as an "infallible policy"), for power-sharing.[2][3]

In 1987, the Conservative Party became the official opposition in the

House of Assembly, winning 550,000 votes, displacing the liberal Progressive Federal Party. Donald Simpson, writing in the South African newspaper, The Star, went as far as to predict that the National Party would lose the next election and that the Conservative Party would become the new government of South Africa.[4]

In June 1989, accompanied by

Conservative Monday Club held a dinner in his honour, at which at least one British Conservative Party MP, Tim Janman, was present.[5]

Already nicknamed "Doctor No", in 1992, he led the opposition campaign during the

F.W. de Klerk to gain white approval for negotiations to end apartheid. This campaign marked the peak of Conservative support in South Africa, gaining just under one million votes, but the "No" vote was defeated 2 to 1 by white voters.[6]

Treurnicht was the author of no fewer than sixteen books, many in the cultural field.

He died on 22 April 1993, in

Ferdinand Hartzenberg
, became the last leader of the Conservative Party.

Private life

Treurnicht married Engela Dreyer on 18 January 1949, and they had four daughters.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Obituary: Andries Treurnicht in The Independent, 27 April 1993
  2. ^ The Conservative Party has the Solution, English language party booklet, n/d but early 1989
  3. ^ The Conservative Party of South Africa - Programme of Principles and Policy, English language booklet, 1988
  4. ^ The Star, 24 May 1987
  5. ^ The Daily Telegraph Court & Social page, 6 June 1989
  6. ^ Beresford, David (18 March 1992). "Sweeping SA vote for reform: Even Afrikaners support De Klerk". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2007.

External links