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James Barry Munnik Hertzog (better known as J. B. M. or "Barry") is a South African politician and soldier. A general of the Orange Free State during the Boer War, Hertzog entered politics and was a founding member of the modern South African Party. He left the SAP in 1913 to found the Afrikaner-dominated National Party and was served as prime minister from 1924-1929. He is currently leader of the opposition in the Volksraad.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Hertzog first studied law at Victoria College in Stellenbosch, Cape Colony but went to the Netherlands in 1889 to read law at the University of Amsterdam, where he prepared a dissertation on the strength of which he received his doctorate in law on 12 November 1892. Between 1892 and 1895, he worked as a lawyer in Pretoria, but quit his practice when he was appointed to the Orange Free State High Court.

During the Second Boer War of 1899–1902, Hertzog rose to the rank of general, becoming the assistant chief commandant of the military forces of the Orange Free State. Despite some military reverses, he gained renown as a resourceful leader of the Boer commandos who chose to continue fighting, the so-called "bitter-enders". Eventually convinced of the futility of further bloodshed, he signed the Treaty of Vereeniging in May 1902.

Political career[]

With South Africa then at peace, Hertzog entered politics as the chief organiser of the Orangia Unie Party. In 1907, the Orange River Colony gained self-government and Hertzog joined the cabinet as Attorney-General and Director of Education. His insistence that Dutch as well as English be taught in the schools aroused bitter opposition. He was appointed national Minister of Justice in the newly formed Union of South Africa in 1910 and continued in office until 1912. His antagonism to British imperialism, and Prime Minister Louis Botha, led to a ministerial crisis. In 1913, Hertzog led the secession of the Old Boer and anti-imperialist section from the South African Party, forming the Nationalist Party. At the outbreak of the Maritz Rebellion in 1914, Hertzog adopted a neutral stance.

When Jan Smuts succeeded Botha in as prime minister 1919, Hertzog was the most influential politician in the opposition. In the general election of 1924, Hertzog's National Party defeated the Smuts's SAP and formed a coalition government with the South African Labour Party, which became known as the Pact Government. The coalition worked to raise the minimum wage and a establish a welfare state (though for white only).

The outbreak of the British Revolution in 1925 raised the possibility of proclaiming a republic, a long hoped-for goal of the National Party. However, Hertzog’s coalition partner, the Labour Party, rejected the idea, weary to throw its lot with the insurgent Union of Britain and denying Hertzog the needed majority to pass such an act. Additionally, the worldwide Great Depression hit South Africa, just as their economy had seemed to be recovering from the post-war depression. Hertzog's response was hobbled by his insistence in keeping the gold standard and the economic situation remained poor for the rest of the decade.

Growing unrest in the Labour movement ultimately led to a split within the Labour Party and to rising tensions within the ruling National-Labour coalition. Additionally, disgruntled National members led by Tielmann Roos left the party to found the so-called Central Party. All of this severely damaged the National's popularity, and in in 1929, Hertzog was unable to maintain allegiance of the parliamentary majority and Jan Smuts became prime minister at the head of his SAP-CP coalition. Ever since, Hertzog has headed the opposition to the Smuts government once again. After the death of Tielmann Roos in 1935, the Central Party was disbanded, the SAP-CP coalition broke apart and many former CP members rejoined Hertzog's National.

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