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Concept
Hendrik Verwoerd
Summary
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (fərˈvuːrt; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966), also known as H. F. Verwoerd was a South African politician, a scholar of applied psychology and sociology, and chief editor of Die Transvaler newspaper. He is commonly regarded as the architect of Apartheid. Verwoerd played a significant role in socially engineering apartheid, the country's system of institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy, and implementing its policies as Minister of Native Affairs (1950–1958) and then as prime minister (1958–1966). Furthermore, Verwoerd played a vital role in helping the far-right National Party come to power in 1948, serving as their political strategist and propagandist, becoming party leader upon his premiership. He was the Union of South Africa's last prime minister, from 1958 to 1961, when he proclaimed the founding of the Republic of South Africa, remaining its prime minister until his assassination in 1966.
Verwoerd was an authoritarian, socially conservative leader and an Afrikaner nationalist. He was a member of the Afrikaner Broederbond (Afrikaans: Brotherhood), a secret white and Calvinist organization dedicated to advancing the Afrikaner "volk" interests, and protested against South Africa's declaration of war on Germany during World War II. Following the Nationalist electoral victory in 1948, Verwoerd assumed high positions in the government and wielded a strong influence on South African society.
Verwoerd became prime minister in 1958. His desire to ensure white, and especially Afrikaner dominance in South Africa, to the exclusion of the nonwhite majority, was a major aspect of his support for a republic. To that same end, Verwoerd greatly expanded apartheid. When attempting to justify apartheid to international audiences, he branded it as a policy of "good-neighborliness", stating that as different races and cultures have different beliefs and values, they could only reach their full potential if they lived and developed apart from each other.
Official source
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