Herenigde Nasionale Party

The Herenigde Nasionale Party (Reunited National Party) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

during the 1940s. It was the product of the reunion of

Daniel François Malan Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party implemented the system of apartheid, which enforce ...

's Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party (Purified National Party) and J.B.M. Hertzog's breakaway Afrikaner nationalist faction of the United Party in 1940. In 1934, J. B. M. Hertzog had fused his National Party with

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

South African Party nl, Zuidafrikaanse Partij , leader1_title = Leader (s) , leader1_name = Louis Botha,Jan Smuts, Barry Hertzog , foundation = , dissolution = , merger = Het Volk South African PartyAfrikaner BondOrangia Unie , merged ...

to form the United Party due to pressure from the electorate during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He split away in 1939, however, because he could not tolerate the idea of entering

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

on the side of the British. Hertzog briefly led the new party but resigned after Malan and his faction rejected Hertzog's proposed platform of equality between British South Africans and Afrikaners. As a result, Malan became party leader and resumed his position as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. The Herenigde Nasionale Party gained popularity after the war and unexpectedly won the elections of 1948 with a majority of seats but a significant minority of the popular vote. Internationally it is known for the implementation 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 ...

. After 1948, the HNP merged with the

Afrikaner Party The Afrikaner Party (AP) was a South African political party from 1941 to 1951. Origins The Afrikaner Party's roots can be traced back to September 1939, when South Africa declared war on Germany shortly after the start of World War II. The t ...

, another Afrikaner nationalist party led by one of Hertzog's protégés, and reverted to the short name, the Nasionale Party (National Party), which it retained until shortly after the fall of apartheid during the 1990s. The initials of the Herenigde Nasionale Party, HNP, were later used by a breakaway party that was established in 1969, the rightwing Herstigte Nasionale Party (Reconstituted National Party). {{Political history of South Africa, state=collapsed 1940 establishments in South Africa Afrikaner nationalism Defunct political parties in South Africa Nationalist parties in South Africa Organisations associated with apartheid Political parties established in 1940 Political parties with year of disestablishment missing Protestant political parties White nationalist parties