Hertzog, James Barry Munuik

Hertzog, James Barry Munuik (b. 3 Apr. 1866, d. 21 Nov. 1942). Prime Minister of South Africa 1924–39 Born in Soetendal (Cape Colony), his belief in the value of the Dutch-derived Afrikaner language and culture was strengthened during his studies in the Netherlands, where he studied for a doctorate in law at the University of Amsterdam (1889–92). He returned to open a law practice in Pretoria, and in 1895 was appointed a judge in the Orange Free State (OFS). He became first a legal adviser and then a general of the OFS forces in the South African War, and reluctantly became one of the signatories of the Peace of Vereeniging (31 May 1902). A co-founder of the Orangia-Unie party in 1906, in the first postwar government he became responsible for education, where he became controversial for his support of the Afrikaans language. He took part in the negotiations for South African union, and as a cultural leader of the Afrikaans-speaking people was included in Louis Botha's first Cabinet. He opposed Botha's conciliatory attitude towards the English, however, and in early 1913 he was excluded from the Cabinet, whereupon he left the South African Party (SAP) to form the National Party (NP). He opposed entry into World War I, and continued to appeal to Afrikaner nationalism in demanding the right to secede from the British Empire. His party won the 1924 elections, and thereafter realized an enhanced status for his country within the British Empire (1926), introduced a new flag (1927), and gave Afrikaans the status of an official language (1925). He gained an absolute majority in the 1929 elections, but the Great Depression, and his decision to leave the Gold Standard in 1932, caused severe divisions in the NP.

In 1933, he agreed to join forces with Smuts, with most of the NP and with the SAP, to form the United South African National Party in 1934, despite the ferocious opposition of Malan. Perhaps Hertzog's time in office is best known for his relentless and eventually successful campaign for the stepping-up of racial segregation, sealed by the passing of the Native Trust and Land Act and the Representation of Natives Act (1936). These became the basis of the apartheid system. He was forced to resign because of his opposition to South Africa's entry into World War II.