Schalk van der Merwe (politician)

Schalk Willem van der Merwe (born September 18, 1922 in Citrusdal , Cape Province , South African Union ; † July 24, 1984 in Rundu , Namibia ) was a South African doctor and politician of the National Party (NP), who was, among other things, several times minister in various departments .

Life

After attending elementary school in Citrusdal and high school in Paarl in 1940, Schalk Willem van der Merwe began studying medicine at the University of Cape Town , which he completed in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. Medicine) and a Bachelor in surgery (B.Sc. Surgery). After completing his studies, he became a doctor at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town in 1946 , where Christiaan Barnard later worked. Just one year later, in 1947, he started working as a general practitioner in Keimoes , where he also worked as a surgeon. In the mid-1950s he began his involvement with the National Party (NP) in local politics when he was elected to the council of Keimoes. He was Mayor of Keimoes for the first time between 1957 and 1960 and then from 1960 to 1966 a member of the Executive Committee of the Municipal Union of the Cape Province . At the same time he was again mayor of Keimoes between 1963 and 1966 and from 1963 to 1964 a member of the board of directors of the United Communal Society. In addition to his professional and political activities, he completed postgraduate studies in economics , administration and political science at the University of South Africa , which he completed in 1964 with another Bachelor of Arts (BA) with distinction.

In the elections on March 30, 1966, van der Merwe was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies (Volksraad van Suid-Afrika) and represented the constituency of Gordonia until 1980 . In 1968 he completed another postgraduate degree in political science at the University of South Africa with a new Bachelor of Arts. On May 18, 1970, he took over his first government offices in the Vorster II cabinet and between 1970 and 1972 served as Vice Minister for Interior, Vice Minister for Social Affairs and Pensions and Vice Minister for Coloreds and Homeland Rehoboth .

In the course of a cabinet reshuffle, Schalk van der Merwe was appointed Minister of Health by Prime Minister Balthazar Johannes Vorster on 23 August 1972 as the successor to Carel de Wet . At the same time, he replaced Jannie Loots on August 23, 1972 as Vice Minister for Affairs of Coloreds and Homeland Rehoboth. In the subsequent Vorster III cabinet , he remained Minister of Health between April 29, 1974 and October 10, 1978. He also held the post of Minister for Coloreds Affairs, Homeland Rehoboth Affairs and Nama Relations from April 29, 1974 until his replacement by Hennie Smit in 1976 . In addition, he was Jannie Loots' successor between January 23, 1976 and October 10, 1978, Minister for Environment, Planning and Statistics. In the subsequently formed Botha I cabinet, he continued to hold the post of Minister of Health between October 10, 1978 and until his replacement by Lourens Munnik on August 11, 1979. At the same time, he replaced Frederik Willem de Klerk as Minister for Social Security and Pensions on November 20, 1978 and also held this office until he was replaced by Lourens Munnik on August 11, 1979. Most recently he acted as the successor to Economy Minister Chris Heunis from June 20, 1979 until his replacement by Dawie de Villiers on October 6, 1980 in the Botha I cabinet as Minister for Trade, Industry and Consumer Affairs.

After leaving the government, van der Merwe became President of the Cabinet's Economic Commission on October 6, 1980.

Web links

• Schalk van der Merwe , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 15/1981 of March 30, 1981, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)
• Entry in prabook.com