Ernest George Jansen (7 August 1881 – 25 November 1959) was the penultimate Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, holding office from 1951 until his death in 1959.

Early life and education

Born on 7 August 1881, he was educated at the Durban High School and then graduated with a law degree from the University of the Cape of Good Hope in 1905, and was admitted as an advocate (the South African equivalent of a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

) in 1913.

Political career

An ardent champion of

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

interests, he joined the National Party in 1915 and was a member of Parliament from 1915 to 1920, from 1921 to 1943, and from 1947 to 1950. In 1919, he was a member of a delegation which tried unsuccessfully to persuade American president

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

to call for independence to be restored to the former

Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

republics of the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

and the Transvaal. In Parliament, Jansen was Speaker of the

House of Assembly of South Africa A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

from 1924 to 1929, Minister of Native Affairs and of Irrigation from 1929 to 1934, and Speaker again from 1934 to 1943. He was highly regarded for his firm and impartial speakership. He was Minister of Native Affairs again from 1948 to 1950, but was thought to be too soft on the new policy of

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

, for which his department was primarily responsible. He was subsequently replaced by hardliner

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 ...

and formally promoted by Prime Minister Daniel Malan to the politically neutral post of Governor-General once vacant. As an Afrikaner nationalist and stout republican, Jansen declined to wear the ceremonial uniform, or to take the oath of allegiance to the monarch whom he represented. He held office until his death in 1959, when he was succeeded by Minister of Justice Charles Robberts Swart.

Personal life and legacy

Jansen married Martha Mabel Pellissier in 1912. Both were prominent figures in Afrikaner cultural circles. Jansen was a founder member of the South African Academy for Science and Art ('' Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns'' - SAAWEK) in 1909, of the Co-operation Union (''Saamwerk-Unie'') in 1917, of the Federation of Afrikaner Cultural Associations ('' Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge'' - FAK) in 1929, and of the Voortrekkers (the Afrikaner equivalent of the Boy Scouts and

Girl Guides Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of Girlguiding, The ...

) in 1930, and was master of ceremonies at the laying of the foundation stone of the Voortrekker Monument in 1938 and at its dedication in 1949. Hoërskool Dr. E.G. Jansen (High School), in

Boksburg Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng province of South Africa. Gold was discovered in Boksburg in 1887. Boksburg was named after the State Secretary of the South African Republic, Willem Eduard Bok, W. Eduard Bok. The R29 (South A ...

, is named after him.Hoërskool Dr. E.G. Jansen Ontstaan en Geskiedenis (Origin and History

- Afrikaans Website

References

*''Dictionary of South African Biography'' Volume V {{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Ernest George 1881 births 1959 deaths Afrikaner nationalists Colony of Natal people Governors-general of South Africa Government ministers of South Africa Members of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) National Party (South Africa) politicians People from Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal Speakers of the House of Assembly (South Africa) South African people of German descent University of South Africa alumni Cape Colony politicians Alumni of Durban High School

Early life and education

Political career

Personal life and legacy

See also

References