Herstigte Nasionale Party
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Reconstituted National Party
Herstigte Nasionale Party |
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| Leader | Andries Breytenbach |
| Founder | Albert Hertzog |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Split from | National Party |
| Headquarters | Neethlingstraat 199, Eloffsdal, Pretoria |
| Newspaper | Die Afrikaner |
| Ideology |
Afrikaner nationalism Apartheid Anti-communism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Colours | Orange, White and Blue |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| www.hnp.org.za | |
The Herstigte Nasionale Party (Reconstituted National Party) is a South African political party which was formed as a far-right splinter group of the now defunct National Party in 1969. The party name was commonly abbreviated as HNP, although colloquially they were also known as the Herstigtes.
The HNP was formed in 1969 by Albert Hertzog (son of former Prime Minister General JBM Hertzog) in protest against the decision by Prime Minister B.J. Vorster to authorize the presence of Maori players and spectators during the tour of New Zealand rugby union team in South Africa in 1970. He was also against Vorster's re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Malawi and that country's appointment of a Black ambassador to South Africa. The name was chosen to reflect the initials of the earlier Herenigde Nasionale Party (Reunited National Party), the name used by the National Party in the election of 1948. Seeking a return to Calvinism as the basis of South Africa, the party advocated complete racial segregation and the adoption of Afrikaans as the only official language. The bulk of the membership of the new party was made up of rural and small town working and lower middle class Afrikaners who resented what they saw as the National Party devoting their attentions to the concerns of urban Afrikaner elites.
The party contested the 1970 general election although its campaign was the subject of government crackdowns and attacks. The party's 78 candidates were all defeated, including its four Ministers of Parlement, all of whom had been National Party members before defecting to the new HNP. The party also contested 50 seats in the 1974 general election but failed to make an impact in an election where reformists advanced. During this election the HNP boycotted the English language press, as the party opposed the use of the language. It also contested three by-elections in 1975 and 1976 and enjoyed some growth, taking second place ahead of the United Party in the two seats that that group contested. The HNP captured 3.3% of the vote in the 1977 general election before increasing to 14.1% in 1981 but on no occasion did it win any seats.
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