Charles Robberts Swart | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1960 | |
| 1st State President of South Africa | |
| In office 31 May 1961 – 1 June 1967 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by |
|
| Succeeded by |
|
| 9th Governor-General of South Africa | |
| In office 11 December 1959 – 31 May 1961 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Johannes Strijdom |
| Preceded by | |
| Succeeded by |
|
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 4 June 1948 – 11 December 1959 | |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Harry Lawrence |
| Succeeded by | Frans Erasmus |
| Minister of Education, Arts and Science | |
| In office 1949–1950 | |
| Prime Minister | Daniël Malan |
| Preceded by | Albert Jacobus Stals |
| Succeeded by | Johannes Hendrikus Viljoen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1894-12-05)5 December 1894[1] |
| Died | 16 July 1982(1982-07-16) (aged 87) |
| Political party | National Party Ossewabrandwag |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of the Free State Columbia University |
| Occupation |
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| Signature |  |
| Nickname | Blackie |
Charles Robberts SwartDMS (5 December 1894 – 16 July 1982), nicknamed "Blackie",[3] was a South African politician who served as the lastgovernor-general of the Union of South Africa from 1959 to 1961 and thefirststate president of theRepublic of South Africa from 1961 to 1967.
Swart was born on 5 December 1894 on the Morgenzon farm, in theWinburg district, part of theBoer republic of theOrange Free State (which became a British colony in 1902 and a province of theUnion of South Africa in 1910).[1]
He was the third of six children, born to Hermanus Bernardus Swart (1866–1949) and Aletta Catharina Robberts (1871–1927).[4] The Anglo-Boer War (Second Boer War) broke out when he was five years old. During the war, his mother and the children were interned at theWinburg concentration camp. Out of the three boys, one died while in the concentration camp. His father was wounded and captured by the British during theBattle of Paardeberg. He became a prisoner-of-war and stayed in Groenpunt andSimonstad until the end of the war.[5]
Aged seven, Swart went to the government school in Winburg. He later went to a CNO (Christelike Nasionale Onderwys or "Christian National Education") school, set up by the Afrikaners in response toLord Milner's anglicisation policy at the government-sponsored schools.[6]
He established himself as abarrister in 1914. He spent a brief period inHollywood acting in silent films, before embarking on his public career. He practised law in Bloemfontein from 1919–1948, with the exception of the time spent earning a degree in journalism fromColumbia University in New York in 1921–22. He reported briefly from Washington for theDie Burger newspaper.[2]
He was married to Cornelia Wilhelmina (Nellie) de Klerk and had three children. He was a tall man at 200 centimetres (6 ft 7 in).
In 1923, he was elected to theHouse of Assembly as the Member of Parliament forLadybrand.[1] until he was defeated in 1938. Swart was a member of theOssewabrandwag. He became leader of theNational Party in theOrange Free State and MP forWinburg in 1941.[7][8] After the end of the Second World War, he was appointed Minister of Justice when theNational Party came to power in 1948, and was responsible for legislation to strengthen the powers of theSouth African Police to suppress anti-apartheid activity.[9] Between 1949 and 1950 he held the portfolio for Education, Arts and Science and served as Deputy Prime Minister between 1954 and 1959.[10]
In 1959, Swart was appointed Governor-General, but like his predecessorErnest George Jansen, he was a staunch republican.[9] Despite this, he had earlier kneeled before QueenElizabeth II and kissed her hand.[11] In areferendum the following year, a small majority of white voters endorsed a government proposal to become a republic. In 1961, after signing into law the new republican constitution passed by Parliament, he asked the Queen to release him from office, and Parliament then elected him as state president, the new post that replaced the monarch and the Governor-General as ceremonial head of state.[12]Nelson Mandela and other underground black resistance leaders tried to protest against the change to the new system by planning a three-daygeneral strike of non-white workers, but the government preemptively averted most of these plans through an extensive use of police force to persecute the dissenters.[13]
Although elected for a seven-year term in office, Swart served as state president for only six years, and he retired in 1967. After his retirement, Swart was awarded theDecoration for Meritorious Services by State PresidentJim Fouché.[14] He died on 16 July 1982, aged 87. Swart was popularly known as "Blackie" (Swart isAfrikaans for "black")[3] or as "Oom Blackie",oom being Afrikaans for "uncle", but used as a sign of respect towards an older male.[15]
The tallest building inBloemfontein, which housed various governmental departments and the Law Faculty of the University of the Orange Free State, was named the President CR Swart Building in his honour.[16] In 2015, the ANC government renamed the popular CR Swart Building theFidel Castro Building.[17]
A statue of CR Swart at theUniversity of the Free State was destroyed by protesting students in late-February 2016.[18]
The highest peak in the remotePrince Edward Islands was called State President Swart Peak, before it was renamed Mascarin Peak in 2003.[19]
Swart's portrait is depicted on the obverses of thecoins of the South African rand – from 1 to 50 Cents dated 1968, which was struck to commemorate him as the firstState President of South Africa.[20]
Generally:
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Governor-General of South Africa 1959–1961 | Position abolished South Africa became a republic |
| Preceded by | State President of South Africa 1961–1967 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
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