Johannes Marthinus (Jan, Jannie) de Wet (10 November 1927 – 13 February 2011) was a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n politician and farmer.

Politics

De Wet entered politics as a member of the

South African Parliament The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town; the country's legislative capital. Under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Asse ...

from 1964 to 1970. He then became the Commissioner General of Native Peoples of South West Africa from 1970 to 1978, as a part of the Apartheid government. While working in South Africa, de Wet was amongst officials who met then rebel organization

South West Africa People's Organization The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

(SWAPO) in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Following the

Turnhalle Constitutional Conference The Turnhalle Constitutional Conference was a conference held in Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost e ...

in 1978 and the possibility of Namibian independence, they left South African politics and entered White Namibian politics with the

Action Christian National Action Christian National (ACN) was a white nationalist political party in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). The ACN was established in 1989 to enable whites to participate in the elections. It used to be aligned with the National Party of So ...

(ACN). De Wet was a member of the

Transitional Government of National Unity Transitional Government of National Unity may refer to: * Transitional Government of National Unity (Chad), a government in Chad between 1979 and 1982 * Transitional Government of National Unity (Namibia), a government in South West Africa (Namibia ...

from 1985 until independence in 1989. He chaired that body from August 1987 until January 1988. Following the 1989 democratic election, de Wet was selected to represent the ACN in the

Constituent Assembly of Namibia Below is a list of members of the Constituent Assembly of Namibia, which became the National Assembly of Namibia upon independence in March 1990. Individual members were selected by political parties voted for in the 1989 election, the first ...

(1989–90) and 1st National Assembly (1990–94).

Farming

A White Namibian, de Wet was a farmer in Leonardville in Namibia's eastern

Omaheke Region Omaheke (the Otjiherero word for sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari Desert ...

. As head of the Namibian Agricultural Union from 1994 to 2004, de Wet worked with the Namibian government concerning the country's land reform processes, questioning criteria and methods of redistribution.Namibia's white farmers hold out hope

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'', formerly the ''Weekly Mail'', is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, loca ...

, 28 May 2004

References

1927 births 2011 deaths Politicians from the Free State (province) Namibian people of South African descent Stellenbosch University alumni Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) People from Omaheke Region Namibian farmers White Namibian people Afrikaner people Action Christian National politicians {{Namibia-politician-stub

Politics

Farming

See also

References