Sir De Villiers Graaff, 2nd Baronet, (8 December 1913 – 4 October 1999) (first name De Villiers, surname Graaff) known as Div Graaff, was a South African politician who succeeded his father, Sir David Pieter de Villiers Graaff, 1st Baronet, to his

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1931. He died in 1999 and was succeeded by his son, Sir David de Villiers Graaff, 3rd Baronet. He was the leader of the centrist United Party which was the official opposition in the then all-white South African Parliament from 1956 to 1977.

Early life

Graaff was born on 8 December 1913 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

. He attended Western Province Preparatory School and served as

head boy Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

during his final year at the school. Graaff succeeded his father as baronet in 1931. This baronetcy is one of twelve conferred on South Africans between 1841 and 1924. He studied law at the Universities of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

, and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In 1937, he returned to South Africa and was admitted as an advocate in the South African Supreme Court. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Graaff joined the Union Defence Force. He served in North Africa and was taken

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

Axis forces The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

during the Siege of Tobruk. He spent the rest of the war transitioning between German and Italian prison camps and was later appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in 1946 for his relief efforts among prisoners. His youngest brother was Johannes de Villiers Graaff, a noted South African welfare economist.

Political career

Graaff became a member of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...

, the lower house of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, in 1948, the year his United Party was ousted from government by the conservative National Party, which promised to enact a ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' system of

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 ...

. Victory in De Villiers' constituency (Hottentots-Holland) was the sole UP gain in the election; nevertheless, Graaff took over leadership of the United Party in 1956 from J.G.N. Strauss. He led the opposition to the governments of three apartheid prime ministers,

Johannes Strijdom Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom (also spelled Strydom in accordance with Afrikaans spelling; 14 July 1893 – 24 August 1958), also known as Hans Strijdom and nicknamed the Lion of the North or the Lion of Waterberg, was the fifth prime minister o ...

Hendrik Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966) 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 ...

, and

B.J. Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state presiden ...

. He led the opposition to a republic in the 1960 referendum, and stated that South Africa's membership of the Commonwealth was under threat, and the declaration of a republic would lead to South Africa being isolated internationally.Decision to quit was "inevitable"
''

The Sun-Herald ''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald'' ...

'', March 19, 1961 In 1977, the United Party was dissolved and the New Republic Party was founded, of which Graaff briefly served as interim leader before retiring. During his time as leader of the United Party it had split four times and been defeated in five general elections. Sir De Villiers Graaff 1960

Legacy

The M1 highway, which was originally part of a ring road around the southern end of the Central Business District of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

to the affluent northern suburbs, was named the De Villiers Graaff Motorway in his honour.

References

External links

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CricketArchive: De Villiers Graaff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graaff, De Villiers, 2nd Baronet Graaff, 2nd Baronet South African cricketers Western Province cricketers Politicians from Cape Town People from the Western Cape 1913 births 1999 deaths Afrikaner people United Party (South Africa) politicians Members of the House of Assembly (South Africa) Leaders of political parties South African military personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war de Villers People from Cape Town South African Officers of the Order of the British Empire Anti-apartheid activists South African anti-communists