Pieter Willem Adriaan Mulder (born 26 July 1951) is a South African politician and the former leader of the

Freedom Front Plus The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus or FF+; , ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Corné Mulder. Since 2024, it is a part of the current South African Third Cabin ...

. He served as the Deputy

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries may refer to: * Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Cambodia) * Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan) * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Niue) * Depart ...

in the Cabinet of President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

from 2009–14.

Biography

Early life and politics

Mulder was born 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 ...

and grew up in Randfontein and

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. He completed his secondary education at Riebeeck High School in Randfontein, where he was head boy and Victor Ludorum in athletics. The son of former Cabinet minister

Connie Mulder Cornelius Petrus Mulder (5 June 1925 – 12 January 1988) was a South African politician and cabinet minister. Early life Mulder was born on 5 June 1925. He was the son of a school principal and grew up with nine siblings. He studied for his b ...

, Pieter first worked as a lecturer at the

Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (abbreviated as PU for CHE) was a South African university located in Potchefstroom. Instruction was mainly in Afrikaans. In 2004, the university was merged with other institutions to cr ...

, before being promoted to head of the university's communications department. He represented the town of

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for nearly thirty years from 1988–2017, initially elected as an MP for the Conservative Party (KP).

Freedom Front

Prior to South Africa's first non-racial election in 1994, Mulder co-founded the Freedom Front with

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Constand Viljoen General Constand Laubscher Viljoen (28 October 19333 April 2020) was a South African Army officer and politician. He co-founded the Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Front) and later founded the Freedom Front Plus, Freedom Front (which ...

, a former head of the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...

. At the election in 1994, the Freedom Front won nine seats in the National Assembly. This number was reduced to three at the 1999 general election. Viljoen, who acted as the leader since the party's founding, retired from politics in 2001 and Mulder succeeded him.

Deputy Minister and Leader of the Freedom Front Plus

In 2004, under Mulder's leadership, the Freedom Front was renamed Freedom Front Plus after absorbing the smaller Conservative Party, the

Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging The Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging (Afrikaner Unity Movement) was a small South African political party founded in Pretoria in 1998. It was led by Cassie Aucamp, and based on Afrikaner nationalism. The party participated in the South African genera ...

(Afrikaner Unity Movement), which lost its only seat in the National Assembly due to floor-crossing, and the Federal Alliance of Dr.

Louis Luyt Louis Luyt (18 June 1932 – 1 February 2013) was a South African business tycoon and politician, and one-time rugby administrator. Having been a rugby player as a young man, Luyt went on to become a businessman. He founded Triomf Fertiliser a ...

. At the 2004 general election, the new "Freedom Front Plus" managed to gain four seats in the National Assembly. On 10 May 2009, President Jacob Zuma announced his appointment of Mulder as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Mulder served until May 2014, when he was replaced by former Police Commissioner

Bheki Cele Bhekokwakhe "Bheki" Hamilton Cele (born 22 April 1952) was the South African Minister of Police from February 2018 to 17 June 2024. He was National Commissioner of the South African Police Service for two years, until misconduct allegations led ...

. Mulder stepped down as leader of the Freedom Front Plus in late-2016, and was replaced by fellow MP

Pieter Groenewald Petrus Johannes "Pieter" Groenewald (born 27 August 1955) is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister of Correctional Services since July 2024. He served as the Leader of the Freedom Front Plus from November 2016 until Feb ...

. He remained a member of parliament until December 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulder, Pieter 1951 births Living people People from Randfontein Afrikaner people Freedom Front Plus politicians North-West University alumni Forestry in South Africa Conservative Party (South Africa) politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1994–1999 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1999–2004 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2004–2009 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2009–2014 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2014–2019