Gerrit Van Niekerk Viljoen (11 September 1926 in Cape Town – 29 March 2009) was a South African government minister and member of the National Party. He was chair of the Broederbond from 1974 to 1980, Administrator-General of

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

from 1979 to 1980, Minister of Education in South Africa from 1980 to 1989, and Minister of Constitutional Development from 1989 to 1992.

Early life

He was born 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 ...

in 1926, the son of Helena and Hendrik Geldenhuys Viljoen, the editor of

Huisgenoot ''Huisgenoot'' (Afrikaans for ''House Companion'') is a weekly South African Afrikaans-language general-interest family magazine. It has the highest circulation figures of any South African magazine and is followed by sister magazine '' YOU'', ...

magazine. He attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a popular and renowned public school located in Pretoria. He continued his studies at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

. Here he was elected to the Student Representative Council and in 1948 was a founder of the Union of Afrikaans students. He studied classical literature and philosophy at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, then at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

, where he passed his PhD summa cum laude. On returning to South Africa, he worked at the University of Pretoria and in 1967 was named vice-chancellor of the

Rand Afrikaans University The Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) was a prominent South African institution of higher education and research that served the greater Johannesburg area and surroundings from 1967 to 2004. It has since merged with the Technikon Witwatersrand ...

Political career

In 1974, he succeeded

Andries Treurnicht Andries Petrus Treurnicht (19 February 1921 – 22 April 1993) was a South African politician, Minister of Education during the Soweto Riots and for a short time leader of the National Party in Transvaal. In 1982 he founded and led the Conse ...

as chair of the Broederbond, an influential organisation of Afrikaners, of which almost all South African government ministers of the time were members. In 1979, he was appointed Administrator-General of South West Africa, and in 1980 joined the government of

P. W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, (; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as P. W. and af, Die Groot Krokodil (The Big Crocodile), was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and ...

as Minister of Education. In 1989, he became Minister of Constitutional Development in the government of F. W. de Klerk. As a senior ideologue and spokesman of the National Party, he investigated several constitutional models for a "new South Africa", and took part in the first official negotiations with the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

in May 1990 after the release of political prisoners including Nelson Mandela. During the CODESA negotiations he championed the idea of "group rights", differentiating them from "individual rights", and saw them as a way to entrench the rights of South African groups, including the white minority. He retired from politics and government in 1992 for reasons of health. Gerrit Viljoen was the father of seven children.

References

External links

Gerrit Viljoen
on SA History Online {{DEFAULTSORT:Viljoen, Gerrit 1926 births 2009 deaths University of Pretoria alumni University of Pretoria faculty Afrikaner people Politicians from Cape Town National Party (South Africa) politicians Members of the House of Assembly (South Africa) Education ministers of South Africa Alumni of the University of Cambridge Leiden University alumni