Koos van der Merwe

Jacobus Hercules "Koos" van der Merwe (born 4 August 1937) is a South African former politician. He was a member of the South African Parliament, representing the National Party, Conservative Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).[1] He was a member of the House of Assembly and later the South African National Assembly between 1977 and 2014, being the longest serving member of Parliament at the time of his retirement.[2]

Koos van der Merwe
Member of the South African Parliament
for List
In office
1977–2014
Personal details
Born
Jacobus Hercules van der Merwe

(1937-08-04) 4 August 1937
Orange Free State, Union of South Africa
Political partyInkatha Freedom Party
Other political
affiliations		National Party
Conservative Party
Independent
ProfessionLawyer

Personal life

Van der Merwe was born on 4 August 1937 in the Orange Free State. He studied at the University of Pretoria before working as an insurer. He then earned a diploma in law from the University of South Africa and later qualified as a lawyer.[3] In the early 90s, he lived in Johannesburg.[4]

Political career

Van der Merwe first got involved in politics as a child by helping put up posters for the National Party at the 1948 South African general election.[2] He was elected as a member of Parliament for Jeppe representing the National Party in 1977.[5] He gained a reputation as a political maverick, reportedly once driving up to a tollgate and shooting it in protest of their imposition.[6] In 1982, he was part of the split of the National Party by founding the Conservative Party after storming out of a meeting stating: "I'm finished with that bloody progressive P. W. Botha".[6] He then moved constituency and was elected as a Conservative in Overvaal.[3]

When the State President F. W. de Klerk announced the end of apartheid in 1990, van der Merwe threatened that the Conservative Party would work to mobilise Afrikaners against the government and led a strike in Pretoria.[7][8] He also addressed Nelson Mandela directly, calling on him to renounce African National Congress violence and recognise the rights of Afrikaner self-determination. Mandela would respond in Afrikaans that he was looking forward to discussing it with van der Merwe.[9] However, in 1992 van der Merwe was expelled from the Conservative Party for "ignoring party discipline" in calling for negotiations with the African National Congress for a smaller Volkstaat.[10]

He spent the next 18 months as an independent politician, ironically saying he represented the "Desert Party" and intended to retire at the next election. In 1993, he joined the IFP on the grounds he shared their federalist viewpoints.[3] He was persuaded to stand at the 1994 South African general election and was re-elected and became the IFP's Chief Whip, a position he held until retirement.[2][11] In 2006, he was ejected from the chamber for waving a cake at a government minister while demanding a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki, saying "Here is your cake, come and eat it! I have been waiting for a year."[12] The cake was left in the chamber where it was consumed by members from the Democratic Alliance.[13] He served in the National Assembly until retiring before the 2014 South African general election.[2] Despite retiring, he has still given political opinions to newspapers.[14]

References
  1. "Van Der Merwe, Jacobus Hercules (Koos)". The O'Malley Archives. 4 August 1937. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  2. "Veteran MP Van der Merwe retires". IOL. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  3. "07 Oct 1999: Van Der Merwe, Koos". The O'Malley Archives. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  4. "No Great History of Tolerance in Africa". Baltimore Sun. 24 January 1991. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  5. Deur Pieter du Toit (4 February 2015). "'Eerlikheid steel 'n bees'" (in Afrikaans). Netwerk24. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. Carlin, John (28 August 1992). "A maverick of the right warms to Pretoria reforms: John Carlin in Johannesburg meets Koos van der Merwe, the former Conservative who 10 years ago denounced P W Botha as 'that bloody progressive'". The Independent. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  7. "Conservatives Vow To Fight De Klerk". Deseret News. 7 February 1990. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  8. "Conservatives Call De Klerk A Traitor". Deseret News. 2 February 1991. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  9. "Mandela speaks his heart and mind". St. Petersburg Times. 24 June 1990. Retrieved 5 January 2021 – via Tampa Bay Times.
  10. "Second Conservative Party Official Expelled". Associated Press News. 27 April 1992. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  11. "IFP chief whip longest-serving MP celebrates 35 years". TimesLIVE. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  12. "Leave the cake Koos!". News24. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  13. "Koos takes the cake". News24. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  14. 0:00. "Open letter to Mmusi Maimane from a white Afrikaner: Forgive, redeem and move on". News24. Retrieved 5 January 2021.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Political offices
Preceded by
 Member of the House of Assembly
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
1977–2014		 Succeeded by
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