Elizabeth "Betsie" Verwoerd (née Schoombee; 17 May 1901 – 29 February 2000) was the spouse of the

Prime Minister of South Africa The prime minister of South Africa ( was the head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984. History of the office The position of Prime Minister was established in 1910, when the Union of South Africa was formed. He was appointed ...

from 2 September 1958 until the assassination of her husband

Hendrik Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966), also known as H. F. Verwoerd, was a Dutch-born South African politician, scholar in applied psychology, philosophy, and sociology, and newspaper editor who was Prime Mini ...

on 6 September 1966. Betsie was of Danish descent and born on 17 May 1901 to Wynand Johannes and Anna Francina Susanna (née Naude) Schoombee in

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. Betsie met her future husband while both were attending

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

in the early 1920s. They were married in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where Verwoerd was studying, on 7 January 1927. The couple returned to the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

in 1928. They had five sons (Wilhelm Johannes Verwoerd, born 5 September 1929; Daniel Wynand Verwoerd, 19 November 1933; Hendrik Frans Verwoerd, born 11 August 1940; Christiaan Andries Verwoerd, 10 September 1942; and Wynand Schoombee Verwoerd, 28 June 1947) and two daughters (Anna Verwoerd, born 9 March 1932; and Elsabet Verwoerd, 26 July 1936). Anna Verwoerd married

Carel Boshoff Carel Willem Hendrik Boshoff (9 November 1927 – 16 March 2011) was a South African professor of theology and Afrikaner white nationalist. Biography Boshoff was born in Nylstroom in the Transvaal Province as the second child of Willem Sterre ...

, who later founded the Afrikaner settlement of

Orania Orania () is a Volkstaat, white separatistSources for "white separatist": * * * Additional sources for "whites-only": * * * South Africa, South African town founded by Afrikaners. It is located along the Orange River in the Karoo region o ...

. Her husband was assassinated on 6 September 1966. Afterwards, she occasionally performed such official duties as opening the

Hendrik Verwoerd Dam The Gariep Dam is located in South Africa, near the town of Norvalspont, bordering the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces. Its primary purpose is for irrigation, domestic and industrial use as well as for power generation. It the largest dam ...

(later renamed Gariep Dam) in 1972. In 1992, she moved to

, the Afrikaner settlement founded by her son-in-law. She was visited by the first black

president of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence F ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

, at her home in 1995. Betsie Verwoerd died at her home on 29 February 2000 at the age of 98. Nelson Mandela expressed his sadness at her death, stating he had been impressed with her "pure Afrikaner hospitality" when he visited her in 1995. After her death, her house in Orania was converted into a museum. A primary school in

Randfontein Randfontein is a gold mining town in the West Rand, Gauteng, South Africa, west of Johannesburg. With the Witwatersrand gold rush in full swing, mining financier Sir Joseph Robinson, 1st Baronet, JB Robinson bought the farm Randfontein and, in ...

was previously named in her honour; it was later renamed Laerskool Westgold. A street in

Goodwood, Cape Town Goodwood is a suburb of Cape Town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is situated in the Tygerberg region of the City of Cape Town. It is 10 kilometres from Cape Town and accessible from the N1, N7 and N2 highways. The town was established ...

, still retains her name.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verwoerd, Betsie 1901 births 2000 deaths Afrikaner people South African people of Danish descent Spouses of prime ministers of South Africa Stellenbosch University alumni Orania, Northern Cape