Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (politician, 1845)
Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (born July 4, 1845 in Cape Town , † November 11, 1909 in London ), nickname Onze Jan ("Our Jan"), was a Boer politician in the Cape Colony . For many years he was chairman of the Afrikanerbond (AB).
Life
Hofmeyr was the oldest of five children of a winemaker on the Cape Peninsula . He received his education at the South African College . He then worked as a journalist. He acquired the Volksfriend , united it with the Zuid-Afrikaan to Ons Land ("Our Land") and headed the Zuid-Afrikaansche Tijdschrift . In 1878 he founded the Zuidafrikaanse Boeren Beschermings Vereeniging (ZBB), a moderate representation of the Boers. He sought the recognition of the Dutch language as a "language in public space". In 1879 he was elected to the Cape Colony Parliament in the constituency of Stellenbosch . From May to October 1881 he was Minister without Portfolio under Prime Minister Thomas Charles Scanlen . He resigned after his attempts to learn the Dutch language were unsuccessful; In 1882 he was subsequently granted success.
The union of Afrikanerbond and ZBB, decided in 1881, dragged on for a long time because differences of opinion could not be resolved and the infrastructure was little developed. In March 1882 Hofmeyr in Graaff-Reinet was elected the future chairman in absentia. In October 1882 Hofmeyr first attended the Afrikanerbond Congress in Richmond . The ZBB merged with the Afrikanerbond in 1883, and Hofmeyr took over as chairman. The African bond was also active in the Orange Free State and in the South African Republic (CAR). Under Hofmeyr, the party won several elections to the Cape Colony Parliament. Hofmeyr, however, no longer aspired to government posts, but was considered a "kingmaker" in the selection of British government politicians in the Cape Colony. In this way he enabled Cecil Rhodes , whom he supported for a long time, to become Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. In 1890 he negotiated with Paul Kruger the terms of the Swaziland Convention between the British and the CAR; In 1894 he took part in the Empire Conference in Ottawa , at which representatives of British colonies met.
After the Jameson Raid in 1895, he resigned in protest of Rhodes' behavior, but returned to his offices soon after. He spent the time of the Second Boer War in Europe because of an illness.
In 1880 he married Aleda Hendrikz, who died in 1883. In 1900 he married her sister Johanna Hendrikz. In 1909 he died in London, where he was part of the delegation of South African politicians who presented a draft for the formation of the South African Union .
Honors
The town of Hofmeyr, founded in 1873 in what is now the Eastern Cape Province , municipality of Enoch Mgijima , was named after him in 1911.
Namesakes
His second nephew of the same name Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (1894–1948) was also a politician and university professor. In 1913 he wrote a biography about his uncle. Jan-Hendrik Hofmeyr (* 1953) is a professor for biocomplexity and biochemistry at the University of Stellenbosch .
literature
- Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr : Het Leven van Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (Onze Jan). van de Sandt de Villiers Drukpers Maatschappij, Kaapstad 1913.
Web links
- Newspaper article about Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Entry at britannica.com (English), accessed on November 19, 2018
- ↑ a b portrait at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on November 19, 2018
- ↑ Report at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on November 19, 2018
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hofmeyr, Jan Hendrik |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Onze Jan (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | South African politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th July 1845 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cape Town |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 11, 1909 |
| Place of death | London |