Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd
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The Honourable Hendrik Verwoerd |
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| 7th Prime Minister of South Africa | |
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In office 2 September 1958 – 6 September 1966 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II (1958–1961) |
| President | Charles Robberts Swart (1961–1966) |
| Governor-General |
Ernest George Jansen (1958–1959) Charles Robberts Swart (1959–1961) |
| Preceded by | Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom |
| Succeeded by |
T. E. Dönges as Acting Prime Minister |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd 8 September 1901 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Died | 6 September 1966 (aged 64) Cape Town, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Political party | National Party |
| Spouse(s) | Betsie Schoombie |
| Children | 7 |
| Alma mater |
University of Stellenbosch University of Berlin University of Hamburg University of Leipzig |
| Occupation | Professor, politician and newspaper editor |
| Religion | Dutch Reformed |
University of Stellenbosch University of Berlin
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966), also known as Dr. H. F. Verwoerd, was a South African Psychology and Philosophy scholar, Afrikaans newspaper editor-in-chief and Prime Minister of South Africa. He is regarded as the mastermind behind socially engineering and implementing the racial policies of apartheid, the system of legal racial classification and forced racial segregation that existed in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Verwoerd played an instrumental role in helping the far right Nationalist Party come to power in 1948 where he served as their propagandist and strategist. During his time in office Verwoerd rigidly enforced Apartheid policies through further introducing oppressive laws, which diminished the rights of ordinary individuals, especially black South Africans. He greatly empowered, modernized and enlarged the police force, secret police and military. Verwoerd ordered a secret all-out offensive against those who opposed apartheid, which resulted in tens of thousands of people either detained, imprisoned, tortured, killed (like in the Sharpeville Massacre) or sent into exile. Verwoerd was a right wing authoritarian leader and Afrikaner nationalist. He was a strong advocate of the Afrikaner volk, language, culture and Christian religion. He held that white control over South Africa could only continue if the races lived apart. He survived an assassination attempt in 1960, succumbing to a subsequent one in 1966.
Prior to entering politics, Verwoerd was regarded as a brilliant social science professor at Stellenbosch University. He completed his undergraduate studies magna cum laude majoring in Sociology, Psychology and Philosophy. Verwoerd, continued his studies completing his Masters and Doctorate in both Social Psychology and Philosophy. As a result of his academic performance, Verwoerd received a post-doctoral scholarship from the University of Oxford, but turned it down and continued his research in the fields of Sociology and Philosophy at various German universities. Upon his return to South Africa, he was appointed professor of Applied Psychology at Stellenbosch University at the age of 26. He was then later appointed as head of the Sociology department in 1933.
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