Barend Jacobus "Ben" Schoeman (19 January 1905 – 2 April 1986) was a South African politician of the National Party prominent during the apartheid era. He served as the Minister of Labour from 1948 to 1954, and the Minister of Transport from 1954 until 1974.

History

Schoeman was born in Braamfontein,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, 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#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

in the British Colony of the Transvaal on 19 January 1905, the son of

train driver A train driver, engine driver, engineman or locomotive driver, commonly known as an engineer or railroad engineer in the United States and Canada, and also as a locomotive handler, locomotive operator, train operator, or motorman, is a pers ...

Barend Jacobus Schoeman, and Abelina Jacoba Schoeman (née Theunissen). After completing his studies at high school, he joined the railway industry, and worked as both a driver and a fireman. He progressed up the hierarchy, and after 16 years, he achieved the position of

station master The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now largely historical ...

in Paardekop. At age seventeen, he was the branch chairman for the National Party in Braamfontein. He entered politics as a member of the United Party, being elected as

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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Fordsburg Fordsburg is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region 8. Fordsburg is a residential suburb, although housing numerous shops and factories. Today, Fordsburg is a major centre of Indian and Pakistani culture, with a la ...

in the 1938 general election, gaining a majority of 1,127 over TC Robertson of the Labour Party. Aged 33, Schoeman was the youngest 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 gover ...

. At the outbreak of the

Second World War 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 ...

, Schoeman supported

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

J. B. M. Hertzog's stance of neutrality. When Hertzog resigned as Prime Minister and switched his allegiance to the National Party, Schoeman similarly switched parties, and in 1940, he became the head of the National Party in the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...

, and a member of the party's Executive Committee. In 1943 South African general election, he lost his seat to Sarel Tighy of the United Party. At the 1948 South African general election he returned to Parliament as the member of the National Party for Maraisburg. While some have accused Schoeman of being a member of the sometimes militant

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...

organisation Ossewabrandwag;, Schoeman claims in his memoirs that he was offered the position of general in the organisation but refused. Similarly, Schoeman was approached by the Nazi-sympathizing

Oswald Pirow Oswald Pirow, QC (Aberdeen, Cape Colony (now Eastern Cape South Africa), 14 August 1890 – Pretoria, Transvaal, Union of South Africa , 11 October 1959) was a South African lawyer and far right politician, who held office as minister of Ju ...

to join his "New Order" organisation which advocated for national-socialism in South Africa. Schoeman declined to support the organisation because of his belief in democracy for the Afrikaner people and ended his relationship with Pirow.

Leadership election

After the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

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 larges ...

of Prime Minister Henrik Verwoerd in September 1966, Schoeman was widely considered to be the favourite to assume leadership of both the National Party and the country. However, the day before the election, he withdrew from the race, granting victory to the only other candidate; John Vorster. In an interview conducted shortly after his withdrawal, Schoeman, who looked as though he had been crying, revealed that he had made the decision due to "gossip, even about my wife." In their 2003 book ''Unfinished Business: South Africa, Apartheid and Truth'', Terry Bell and Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza suggest that Schoeman was

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to f ...

ed by Vorster, though offer no evidence for their theory.

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 ...

stalwart Gwede Mantashe has similarly claimed that Schoeman was blackmailed by "securocrats", forcing him to unexpectedly withdraw his candidacy and allowing the more conservative Vorster to take power.

Legacy

Phil Weber, an editor of '' Die Burger'', believed that Schoeman was the "most sober thinker" of

D. F. 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 enforc ...

's cabinet regarding the government's stance on apartheid. Notably following the

Sharpeville Massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd o ...

, Schoeman along with Eben Dönges and Paul Sauer, publicly called for a relaxation of certain Apartheid policies, but this was rejected by Verwoerd. Various major public infrastructure projects have been named after the long-serving minister including the larger outer dock of the

Port of Cape Town The Port of Cape Town is the port of the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated in Table Bay. Because of its position along one of the world's busiest trade routes it is one of the busiest ports in South Africa, handling the largest ...

, South Africa's busiest highway Ben Schoeman Freeway and previously the East London Airport. Under his ministership Richards Bay Port, Africa's largest coal export facility, was built to expand South Africa's coal exporting capacity.

Publications

* *

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Schoeman, Barend Johannes 1905 births 1986 deaths People from Johannesburg National Party (South Africa) politicians Members of the House of Assembly (South Africa) Government ministers of South Africa United Party (South Africa) politicians