Ben Schoeman
| Ben Schoeman | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Transport | |
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In office 30 November 1954 – 1974 |
|
| Preceded by | Paul Sauer |
| Succeeded by | Lourens Muller |
| Constituency | Maraisburg |
| Minister of Labour | |
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In office 4 June 1948 – 30 November 1954 |
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| Preceded by | Colin Fraser Steyn |
| Succeeded by | Johannes de Klerk |
| Constituency | Maraisburg |
| Member of Parliament | |
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In office 1938–1943 |
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| Constituency | Fordsburg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 January 1905 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Died | April 1986 |
| Political party |
National Party (1948–1974) United Party (1938–1943) |
Barend Johannes "Ben" Schoeman (19 January 1905 – 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.
Schoeman was born in Johannesburg in the British Colony of the Transvaal on 19 January 1905, the son of train driver 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.
Prior to entering politics, Schoeman was a member of the elitist and sometimes militant Afrikaner organisation Ossewabrandwag; during which period he was arrested. He entered politics as a member of the United Party, being elected as Member of Parliament for Fordsburg 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. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Schoeman supported Prime Minister 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, and a member of the party's Executive Committee. He openly supported Germany in the war, saying in 1940: "The whole future of Afrikanerdom is dependent on a German victory. We may as well say that openly, because it is a fact."
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