P. W. Botha
Pieter Willem Botha, was a South African politician who served as the last Prime Minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and as the first executive State President of South Africa from 1984 until his resignation in 1989. Nicknamed 'Die Groot Krokodil' due to his tough political stance, he was considered the final hardline leader of South Africa during the apartheid era.
Born on a small farm in the Orange Free State in 1916, Botha was raised in a conservative Afrikaner family with strong nationalist beliefs. Botha studied law at Grey University College but left before completing his degree to pursue a career in politics. He became involved in the National Party's youth wing and worked as a political organizer, laying the foundation for his rise within the party. He supported the NPs opposition to South Africa's involvement in World War II on the side of Britain, and actively campaigned for a German victory. In the 1948 general election, he was elected to the House of Assembly as the MP from George, a position he held for over four decades. His influence within the party grew, and in 1958, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs by Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. In 1961, Botha became Minister of Community Development and Coloured Affairs, overseeing forced removals, including the controversial clearance of District Six. His role expanded in 1966, when he was appointed Minister of Defence by Prime Minister John Vorster. During his tenure, he transformed the South African Defense Forces, increasing military spending, implementing conscription, and launching covert operations against anti-apartheid movements. Botha also played a key role in South Africa's nuclear weapons program and its military interventions in Angola and Namibia during the Cold War.
Botha was elected leader of the National Party and assumed office as Prime Minister on 4 September 1978, following the resignation of John Vorster. His tenure was marked by a focus on maintaining apartheid through military expansion and internal security measures while introducing limited reforms, such as the Tricameral Parliament in 1983, which granted limited political representation to Coloured and Indian South Africans, but excluded Black South Africans. The 1983 referendum on the Tricameral Parliament passed with support from white voters. In 1984, Botha became South Africa's first executive State President, consolidating executive power and continuing apartheid policies. His presidency faced increasing internal unrest, protests, and international sanctions. After suffering a stroke in 1989, he resigned as Leader of the National Party and later State President, and was succeeded by F. W. de Klerk.
After resigning as State President, Botha remained influential in South African politics. He opposed the reforms initiated by his successor, F.W. de Klerk, particularly the negotiations to dismantle apartheid and the unbanning of the ANC, and advocated for a no vote in the 1992 referendum. Botha became a vocal critic of the move toward democracy, maintaining his belief in the necessity of apartheid. In the late 1990s, he faced legal challenges related to his role in the apartheid-era policies, notably during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, where he was called to account for his actions but refused to fully cooperate. Botha's health continued to decline, and he died on 31 October 2006, at the age of 90.
Personal life
Early life and education
Pieter Willem Botha was born on 12 January 1916 on a small farm in the Paul Roux district of the Orange Free State Province. The son of Afrikaner parents, his father, Pieter Willem Botha Sr., fought as a commando against the British in the Second Boer War. His mother, Hendrina Christina Botha, was interned in a British concentration camp during the war.Botha's upbringing was heavily influenced by Afrikaner culture and Calvinist religious teachings. His parents emphasized discipline, hard work, and loyalty to the Afrikaner cause. Growing up in the aftermath of the Second Boer War and amid increasing Afrikaner nationalism, he absorbed the prevailing belief that Afrikaners needed to assert political and economic control over South Africa. This environment helped shape his later political ideology and commitment to apartheid policies.
Botha initially attended the Paul Roux School and matriculated from Bethlehem Voortrekker High School. In 1934, he entered the Grey University College in Bloemfontein to study law, but left early at the age of twenty in order to pursue a career in politics. He began working for the National Party as a political organiser in the neighbouring Cape Province. Botha joined the Ossewabrandwag, an Afrikaner nationalist group which was sympathetic to the German Nazi Party, and helped found its Cape Town branch in 1939. After the German attack on the USSR, Botha condemned the Ossewabrandwag in August 1941, changing his ideological allegiance to Christian nationalism, and was expelled from the organisation soon after.
Family
In 1943, Botha married Anna Elizabeth Rossouw. The couple had five children; two sons and three daughters. In the 1980s, Rozanne Botha, emerged as a minor celebrity figure in the country. She released Afrikaans pop songs and appeared on the covers of magazines such as Sarie and Style, where she was dubbed "First Daughter of the Land".In 1998, he married Barbara Robertson, a legal secretary 25 years his junior, following Elize's death the previous year.
In 2022, two of his daughters died. Amelia Paschke, died in a car crash driving back from Betty's Bay. In the same year, Rozanne also died, of cancer.
Parliamentary career
Botha was elected to parliament in 1948 as an MP for the National Party from the constituency of George. His entry into politics coincided with the National Party's rise to power under Prime Minister D.F. Malan, whos government formally instituted the policy of Apartheid. As a staunch supporter of Afrikaner nationalism, Botha aligned himself with the baasskap faction of the party, advocating for stricter racial policies and the consolidation of white minority rule.Botha gained a reputation for his tough and uncompromising rhetoric, often warning of the dangers of communism, black liberation movements, and international pressure against apartheid. His speeches in Parliament were marked by aggressive language, emphasizing the need for strong leadership to defend white rule. He displayed authoritarian tendencies, advocating for increased state power to suppress opposition and enforce apartheid policies. His biggest opponents during his career in Parliament were Helen Suzman and Harry Schwarz, whom he often verbally attacked in Parliament.
After retaining his seat in the 1953 and 1958 elections, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs by Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. In his capacity, he assisted the administration with the enforcement of the Population Registration Act, which classified all South Africans into one of four racial groups.
In 1961, he was appointed Minister of Community Development and Coloured Affairs, a position that gave him direct control over policies related to urban segregation and forced removals. He was responsible for implementing large-scale resettlement programs that forcibly relocated non-white communities from urban centers to designated areas under the Group Areas Act.
In 1966, he was appointed Minister of Defence, a title in which he held for over 15 years. As Defence Minister, he rapidly expanded the state's military capabilities, responding to growing resistance to apartheid and perceived external threats from neighboring African countries and international sanctions. He began South Africa's nuclear weapons program through a doctrine of "strategic deterrence", aiming to deter Soviet-backed forces in Southern Africa from intervening. He was instrumental in establishing the policy of "total onslaught", which framed South Africa's racial policies as a broader Cold War struggle against communism and black liberation movements. Under his 15 years in charge of the ministry, the South African Defence Force reached a zenith, at times consuming 20% of the national budget, compared to 1.3% in 1968, and was involved in the South African Border War.
Prime Minister (1978–1984)
When Prime Minister John Vorster resigned following allegations of his involvement in the Muldergate Scandal in 1978, Botha was elected as his successor by the National Party caucus, besting the electorate's favourite, 45-year-old Foreign Minister Pik Botha. In the final internal ballot, he beat Connie Mulder, the scandal's namesake, in a 78–72 vote. On 5 December 1978, he was absolved in a judicial report of blame in the scandal.Upon becoming Prime Minister, Botha retained the defence portfolio until October 1980, when he appointed SADF Chief General Magnus Malan, his successor. From his ascension to the cabinet, Botha pursued an ambitious military policy designed to increase South Africa's military capability. He sought to improve relations with the West – especially the United States – but with mixed results. He argued that the preservation of the apartheid government, though unpopular, was crucial to stemming the tide of African Communism, which had made in-roads into neighbouring Angola and Mozambique after these two former Portuguese colonies obtained independence.
In one of his first moves as Prime Minister, he appointed Piet Koornhof as minister responsible for black affairs. Koornhof, who joined the ANC in the post-apartheid era, was regarded as one of the most reform‐minded ministers in the government. Botha had led a campaign to demolish Crossroads, a high-density township in Cape Town in 1978. Amid significant opposition, Botha and Koornhof agreed to "indefinitely delay" the demolitions.
A challenge he faced within his first two months in office was the election of Andries Treurnicht as leader of the Transvaal province. Treurnicht was vocally opposed to apartheid reforms and now had a power base controlling a strong majority of seats in the all-white parliament. The election highlighted differences between Afrikaners in Botha's Cape Province and Treurnicht's. In the former, there was a higher level of tolerance towards racial groups, with attitudes mostly formed by contact with Cape Coloureds. Botha had in 1974 said that the Nico Malan Theatre should be open to patrons of all races. However, he was opposed to blacks becoming a majority in the Western Cape and sought demolitions of unplanned black townships.
In January 1979, he became the first premier to visit Robben Island, known primarily as a prison for mostly black political prisoners. He declined to say whether he had met with any of the prisoners, stating that it was a "routine" visit. In April of the same year, Botha offered military and economic support to Abel Muzorewa's incoming government for Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Botha held high-level talks with Muzorewa in June 1979.
In the weeks leading up to the 1981 South African general election, he was confronted by hard-line Afrikaner hecklers, some of whom were supporters of the Herstigte Nasionale Party, resisting to changes to the status quo of apartheid. On the final night of the campaign trail, Botha vowed that "As long as there is a National Party Government, we won't hand over South-West Africa to the authority of SWAPO." In the election, his party garnered 58% of the all-white vote and 131 seats. This was down from 65% and 134 seats in the 1977 South African general election, with the party losing votes to the Herstigte Nasionale Party.
In April 1981, the passport of Desmond Tutu was seized. Tutu on visits to Europe and the United States, called for economic pressure on South Africa to make Botha's government enter into negotiations with the country's leadership. Botha was angered by these visits and had vowed to seize Tutu's passport. In the same year, he authorised Operation Beanbag, a series of raids by the South African Defence Force against safe houses of uMkhonto we Sizwe, armed wing of the ANC in Mozambique.
In February 1982, he survived a significant challenge to his leadership from Andries Treurnicht. He was able to secure 172 votes versus 36 on a motion of support in his leadership and his route of power-sharing with other racial groups.
On 22 April 1983, Botha announced a special commission to consider repealing the Immorality Act and the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949. Botha said: "I am personally opposed to immoral practices, but the Government does not see these two laws as guarantees for the survival of South Africa,".
On 19 May 1983, South Africa was the subject of resolutions taken by the International Press Institute condemning the "continued harassment and persecution" of the media in South Africa. The institute appealed to Botha to "to accept press freedom as a prerequisite for a country that regards itself as part of the democratic world." The institute also cited the increasing difficulty for foreign journalists to obtain visas to report and work from South Africa. The resolution also highlighted the forthcoming trials of journalists, Allister Sparks, his wife, Suzanne and Bernard Simon. The charges against all three were dropped in March 1984.
In May 1983 he condemned the Church Street, Pretoria bombing committed by uMkhonto weSizwe, saying that it confirmed "that we are dealing with a Communist-inspired onslaught."
In 1983, Botha proposed a new constitution, which was then put to a vote of the white population on 2 November. The constitution was endorsed by the white electorate.
Though it did not implement a federal system, it implemented what was ostensibly a power-sharing agreement with Coloureds and Indians. The new constitution created two new houses of parliament alongside the existing, white-only House of Assembly—the House of Representatives for Coloureds and the House of Delegates for Indians. The three chambers of the new Tricameral Parliament had sole jurisdiction over matters relating to their respective communities. Legislation affecting "general affairs", such as foreign policy and race relations, had to pass all three chambers after consideration by joint standing committees. At the time, White South Africans outnumbered Coloureds and Indians together, hence preserving white dominance within the framework of a "power-sharing" system.
The plan included no chamber or system of representation for the black majority. Each Black ethno-linguistic group was allocated a 'homeland' which would initially be a semi-autonomous area. However, blacks were legally considered citizens of the Bantustans, not of South Africa, and were expected to exercise their political rights there. Bantustans were expected to gradually move towards a greater state of independence with sovereign nation status being the final goal. During Botha's tenure, Ciskei, Bophutatswana and Venda all achieved nominal sovereignty and nationhood, which were only recognised by each other and by South Africa. These new countries, set up within the borders of South Africa, never gained international recognition, and economically all remained heavily dependent on South Africa. Over half of the Bantustans, most notably KwaZulu led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, rejected independence due to their leaders' commitment to opposing apartheid from within.
The new constitution also changed the executive branch from the parliamentary system that had been in place in one form or another since 1910, to a presidential system. The prime minister's post was abolished, and its functions were merged with those of the state president, which became an executive post with sweeping powers. In a departure from general presidential systems, however, the president was to be elected not by universal suffrage but by an electoral college, whose members were elected by the three chambers of the Parliament. The state president and cabinet had sole jurisdiction over "general affairs". Disputes between the three chambers regarding "general affairs" were resolved by the President's Council, composed of members from the three chambers and members directly appointed by the state president. In practice, the composition of the President's Council and the electoral college made it impossible for the Coloured and Indian chambers to outvote the white chamber on any substantive matter, even if they voted as a bloc. Thus, the real power remained in white hands — and in practice, in the hands of Botha's National Party, which commanded a large majority in the white chamber due to the first past the post voting system. Only with the challenge posed by the Conservative Party, which was against the reforms due to the fears of apartheid breaking up, was the Botha's position put in question.
The new constitution was criticised by the black majority for failing to grant them any formal role in government. The African National Congress and Chief Buthelezi were among its opponents. Their stand was supported by many coloured, white and Indian groups, including the official opposition, the Progressive Federal Party. Although many international commentators such as the Reagan Administration praised it as a "first step" in what was assumed to be a series of reforms.