Parlementslede van die Progressiewe Party 1960

Ray Albert Francis Swart (28 February 1928 - 14 January 2020) was a white liberal South African politician who spent his life in opposition to the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

policies of the government . He was educated in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

at Glenwood High School and the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

, where he graduated as a lawyer. At a very early age he became interested in politics and was initially a supporter of the United Party, for which in 1953, he was elected, at the age of 25,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Zululand. In 1959, Swart and eleven other United Party MPs left the party and founded the more liberal Progressive Party. Their policies were not well received by the conservative white electorate at the time and Swart, along with all the other Progressive MPs except Helen Suzman, lost his seat in the 1961 election. The party did not win any more seats until 1974, and Swart did not return to parliament again until the 1977 election, when he was elected MP for Musgrave in

. That election led to a realignment of the opposition parties and a new party, the Progressive Federal Party, replaced the United Party as the official opposition. Swart became the party chairman. He remained in Parliament until 1994, through the negotiations to end apartheid and establish majority rule. Swart died in his sleep in Durban, aged 92. He was survived by his wife Charmian and his children Christopher, Richard, Simon, and Jeanette."Prog Ray Swart (92) dies still an optimist", Natal Witness, 19 February 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swart, Ray 1928 births 2020 deaths Afrikaner anti-apartheid activists United Party (South Africa) politicians Progressive Federal Party politicians