State President of South Africa
{{Short description|Head of state of South Africa (1961–1994)}}
{{About|the position of South African head of state from 1961 to 1994|the position of South African head of state and head of government from 1994 onwards|President of South Africa|head of government from 1910 to 1984|Prime Minister of South Africa}}
{{Use South African English|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = State President
| body = the Republic of South Africa
| native_name = {{small|{{lang|af|Staatspresident van Republiek van Suid-Afrika}}}}
| insignia =
| insigniasize =
| insigniacaption =
| flag = Flag of the President of South Africa (1984-1994).svg
| flagsize =
| flagborder = yes
| flagcaption = Standard of the State President (1984–1994)
| image = Jacobus Johannes Fouché 1968.jpg
| imagesize =
| alt =
| imagecaption = Longest serving
Jim Fouché
10 April 1968 – 9 April 1975
| incumbent =
| acting =
| incumbentsince =
| department =
| style = The Honourable {{small|(until 1985)}}
| status =
| abbreviation = SP – the same abbreviation in both English (State President) and Afrikaans (Staatspresident)
| member_of =
| reports_to =
| residence = Tuynhuys, Cape Town
| seat =
| nominator =
| appointer = Parliament of South Africa as an electoral college – House of Assembly of South Africa and the Senate of South Africa meeting jointly for this purpose.
| appointer_qualified =
| termlength = Seven years, nonrenewable {{small|(until 1984)}}
Duration of Parliament
(normally five years) {{small|(1984–94)}}
| termlength_qualified =
| constituting_instrument =
| precursor = Monarch of South Africa
| formation = 31 May 1961 {{small|(ceremonial)}}
3 September 1984 {{small|(executive)}}
| first = Charles Robberts Swart
| last = Frederik Willem de Klerk
| abolished = 10 May 1994
| succession = President of South Africa
| unofficial_names =
| deputy = Vice State President of South Africa {{small|(1981–1984)}}
| salary =
| website =
}}
File:Flag of the President of South Africa (1961-1984).svg
The State President of the Republic of South Africa ({{langx|af|Staatspresident van Republiek van Suid-Afrika}}) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, outside the Commonwealth of Nations, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be Queen of South Africa. The position of Governor-General of South Africa was accordingly abolished. From 1961 to 1984, the post was largely ceremonial. After constitutional reforms enacted in 1983 and taking effect in 1984, the State President became an executive post, and its holder was both head of state and head of government.
The State President was appointed by both Houses of the Parliament of South Africa (Senate of South Africa and the House of Assembly of South Africa) meeting jointly in the form of an electoral college for this purpose.
The office was abolished in 1994, with the end of Apartheid and the transition to democratic majority rule. Since then, the head of state and head of government is known simply as the President of South Africa.
Prior to 1981, the President of the Senate of South Africa had a dormant commission to act as State President whenever the State Presidency was vacant. This was often the case from 1967 to 1979.
Ceremonial post
File:Tuynhuys (detail).jpg, used as the Cape Town office of the State President, now the office of the President of South Africa]]
Republicanism had long been a plank in the platform of the ruling National Party. However, it was not until 1960, 12 years after it took power, that it was able to hold a referendum on the issue. A narrow majority — 52 percent — of the minority white electorate voted in favour of abolishing the monarchy and declaring South Africa a republic.
The Republic of South Africa was proclaimed on 31 May 1961. Charles Robberts Swart, the last Governor-General, was sworn in as the first State President. The title 'State President' was originally used for the head of state of the Boer Republics,[https://books.google.com/books?id=F0YNAQAAIAAJ&q=%22State+President%22+%22Orange+Free+State%22 Sketch of the Orange Free State of South Africa], Orange Free State. Commission at the International Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876, pages 10–12 and like them, the holder of the office wore a sash with the Republic's coat of arms. He was elected to a seven-year term by the Parliament of South Africa, and was not eligible for re-election.
The National Party decided against having an executive presidency, instead adopting a minimalist approach as a conciliatory gesture to those in the English-speaking community who were opposed to a republic.[https://books.google.com/books?id=LgwWMUbyNVUC&dq=referendum+south+africa+republic&pg=PA161 The White Tribe of Africa], David Harrison, University of California Press, 1983, page 161 As such, like the Governor-General of South Africa, the State President performed mostly ceremonial duties, and was bound by convention to act on the advice of the Prime Minister and the cabinet.
In practice, the post of State President was a sinecure for retired National Party ministers, as the Governor-General's post had been since 1948. Consequently, all State Presidents from 1961 to 1984 were white, Afrikaner, male, and over 60.
Executive post
Following constitutional reforms, in 1984, the office of State President became an executive post, as in the United States. The Prime Minister's post was abolished, and its powers were de facto merged with those of the State President. He was elected by an electoral college of 88 members – 50 Whites, 25 Coloureds, and 13 Indians – from among the members of the Tricameral Parliament. The members of the electoral college were elected by the respective racial groups of the Tricameral Parliament – the white House of Assembly, Coloured House of Representatives and Indian House of Delegates. He held office for the Parliament's duration — in practice, five years. The last Prime Minister, P. W. Botha, was elected as the first executive State President. He succeeded the last ceremonial and non-executive State President, Marais Viljoen.
The State President was vested with sweeping executive powers – in most respects, even greater than those of comparative offices like the President of the United States. He had sole jurisdiction over matters of "national" concern, such as foreign policy and race relations. He was chairman of the President's Council, which resolved disputes between the three chambers regarding "general affairs" legislation. This body consisted of 60 members – 20 members appointed by the House of Assembly, 10 by the House of Representatives, five by the House of Delegates and 25 directly by the State President.
Although the reforms were billed as a power-sharing arrangement, the composition of the electoral college and President's Council made it all but impossible for the white chamber to be outvoted on any substantive matter. Thus, the real power remained in white hands – and in practice, in the hands of the National Party, which had a large majority in the white chamber. As Botha was leader of the National Party, the system placed nearly all governing power in his hands.
Botha resigned in 1989 and was succeeded by F. W. de Klerk, who oversaw the transition to majority rule in 1994.
End of white minority rule
Under South Africa's first non-racial constitution, adopted in 1994, the head of state (and of government) has been known simply as the President. However, since the declaration of the republic in 1961, most non-South African sources had referred to the State President as simply the "President".[https://web.archive.org/web/20090822195218/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938112,00.html South Africa: A War Won], Time, 9 June 1961[https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/11/obituaries/john-vorster-former-south-african-prime-minister-diest-at-67.html John Vorster, former South African Prime Minister, Dies At 67], The New York Times, 11 September 1983 The leader of the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela, was sworn in as President of South Africa on 10 May 1994.
List of state presidents of South Africa
;Political parties
{{legend2|{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}}|National Party|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
;Symbols
{{legend2|#E6E6AA|and "acting" denotes acting president|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}} ! rowspan="2" width="100px" | Portrait ! rowspan="2" | Name ! colspan="3" | Term of office ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Political party ! rowspan="2" | Elected |
| Took office
! Left office ! Time in office |
|---|
| colspan="9"| State presidents as head of state (Ceremonial, 1961–1984) |
| 1
| 100px | Charles Robberts Swart | 31 May 1961 | 31 May 1967 | {{Age in years|1961|5|31|1967|5|31}} years ! style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | 1961 |
| —
| 100px | Theophilus Ebenhaezer Dönges | colspan="3"|Elected, but did not take office because of illness ! style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | 1967 |
| style="background:#E6E6AA
| — | 100px | Jozua François Naudé | 1 June 1967 | 10 April 1968 | {{Age in years and days|1967|6|1|1968|4|10}} ! style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | — |
| 2
| 100px | Jacobus Johannes Fouché | 10 April 1968 | 9 April 1975 | {{Age in years and days|1968|4|10|1975|4|9}} ! style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | 1968 |
| style="background:#E6E6AA
| — | 100px | Johannes de Klerk | 9 April 1975 | 19 April 1975 | {{Age in years and days|1975|4|9|1975|4|19}} ! style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | — |
| 3
| 100px | Nicolaas Johannes Diederichs | 19 April 1975 | 21 August 1978 | {{Age in years and days|1975|4|19|1978|8|21}} ! style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | 1975 |
| style="background:#E6E6AA
| — | 100px | Marais Viljoen | 21 August 1978 | 10 October 1978 | {{Age in years and days|1978|8|21|1978|10|10}} ! style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | — |
| 4
| 100px | Balthazar Johannes Vorster | 10 October 1978 | 4 June 1979 | {{Age in years and days|1978|10|10|1979|6|4}} ! style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | 1978 |
| style="background:#E6E6AA| —
| rowspan=2| 100px | rowspan=2| Marais Viljoen | style="background:#E6E6AA| 4 June 1979 | style="background:#E6E6AA| 19 June 1979 | style="background:#E6E6AA| {{Age in years and days|1979|06|04|1979|06|19}} ! rowspan=2 style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | rowspan=2| National Party | – |
| 5
| 19 June 1979 | 3 September 1984 | {{Age in years and days|1979|6|4|1984|9|3}} | 1979 |
| colspan="9"| State presidents as head of state and government (Executive, 1984–1994) |
| style="background:#E6E6AA| —
| rowspan=2| 100px | rowspan=2| Pieter Willem Botha | style="background:#E6E6AA| 3 September 1984 | style="background:#E6E6AA| 14 September 1984 | style="background:#E6E6AA| {{Age in years and days|1984|09|03|1984|09|14}} ! rowspan=2 style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | rowspan=2| National Party | – |
| 1
| 14 September 1984 | 14 August 1989 | {{Age in years and days|1984|09|14|1989|8|14}} | 1984 |
| style="background:#E6E6AA
| — | 100px | Jan Christiaan Heunis | 19 January 1989 | 15 March 1989 | {{Age in years and days|1989|1|19|1989|3|15}} ! style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | – |
| style="background:#E6E6AA| —
| rowspan=2| 100px | rowspan=2| Frederik Willem de Klerk | style="background:#E6E6AA| 14 August 1989 | style="background:#E6E6AA| 20 September 1989 | style="background:#E6E6AA| {{Age in years and days|1989|8|14|1989|9|20}} ! rowspan=2 style="background:{{party color|National Party (South Africa)}};" | | rowspan=2| National Party | – |
| 2
| 20 September 1989 | 10 May 1994 | {{Age in years and days|1989|9|20|1994|5|10}} | 1989 |
Timeline
{{#tag:timeline|
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PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:100 left:20
AlignBars = late
Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}
Colors =
id:np value:rgb(0.97,0.58,0.11) legend:National_Party
id:gray1 value:gray(0.85)
id:gray2 value:gray(0.95)
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1961 till:01/01/1995
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1965
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1961
Legend = columns:1 left:150 top:35 columnwidth:170
TextData =
pos:(20,38) textcolor:black fontsize:M
text:"Political party:"
BarData =
bar:Swart
bar:Naudé
bar:Fouché
bar:JanKlerk
bar:Diederichs
bar:Viljoen
bar:Vorster
bar:Botha
bar:Heunis
bar:FWdeKlerk
PlotData =
width:5 align:left fontsize:9 shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
bar:Swart
from: 31/05/1961 till: 31/05/1967 color:np text:"C. R. Swart"
bar:Naudé
from: 01/06/1967 till: 10/04/1968 color:np text:"Tom Naudé (acting)"
bar:Fouché
from: 10/04/1968 till: 09/04/1975 color:np text:"Jim Fouché"
bar:JanKlerk
from: 09/04/1975 till: 19/04/1975 color:np text:"Jan de Klerk (acting)"
bar:Diederichs
from: 19/04/1975 till: 21/08/1978 color:np text:"Nico Diederichs"
bar:Viljoen
from: 21/08/1978 till: 10/10/1978 color:np
from: 04/06/1979 till: 03/09/1984 color:np text:"Marais Viljoen"
bar:Vorster
from: 10/10/1978 till: 04/06/1979 color:np text:"John Vorster"
bar:Botha
from: 03/09/1984 till: 19/01/1989 color:np
from: 15/03/1989 till: 14/08/1989 color:np text:"P. W. Botha"
bar:Heunis
from: 19/01/1989 till: 15/03/1989 color:np text:"Chris Heunis (acting)"
bar:FWdeKlerk
from: 14/08/1989 till: 10/05/1994 color:np text:"F. W. de Klerk"
}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|State Presidents of South Africa}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20131004233917/http://www.southafricaweb.co.za/page/presidency-south-africa List of Presidents]
- [http://www.archontology.org/nations/south_africa/sa_pres1/ Lists of Heads of state with links to bios]
{{Heads of State of South Africa}}
{{Heads of government of African states}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:State President of South Africa}}
Category:Politics of South Africa
Category:Lists of political office-holders in South Africa