Jaap Marais
| Jaap Marais | |
|---|---|
_Marais.jpg) |
|
| Leader of the Herstigte Nasionale Party |
|
|
In office 1977 – 8 August 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Albert Hertzog |
| Succeeded by | Willie Marais |
| Constituency |
Innesdal Wonderboom |
| Member of Parliament of South Africa | |
|
In office 1958–1969 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jacob Albertus Marais 2 November 1922 Vryburg, South Africa |
| Died | 8 August 2000 (aged 77) Pretoria, South Africa |
| Political party |
National Party until 1969, Herstigte Nasionale Party 1969-2000 |
| Spouse(s) | Katharina (née de Goede) |
| Children | Marjorié Katharina Japie |
| Residence | Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa |
| Alma mater | Hoër Handelskool Potchefstroom |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Calvinism |
Jacob Albertus Marais (2 November 1922 – 8 August 2000) was an Afrikaner nationalist thinker, author and politician, Member of Parliament, and leader of the Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP) from 1977 to his death in 2000. Marais is the longest serving head of any political party in Afrikaner history, with a term of 23 years.
During the Second Boer War, Marais’s paternal grandmother was the leader of group of Boer women who for 18 months roamed about the western Transvaal and western Free State with their young children so as to avoid capture by British forces. His father, Jaap Sr., and paternal grandfather, Sarel Jacobus Stefanus, did active service on the Western front with the Bothaville commando. Both were made prisoner of war after Boer general Piet Cronjé’s surrender at the Battle of Paardeberg. Father Jaap Sr. was sent to Broadbottom Camp at St. Helena, whilst grandfather Sarel was held het Green Point, after which he received "parole" due to illness. He died a month after the end of the war. Marais’s mother, together with her mother and siblings, was interned at the Klerksdorp concentration camp.
Jaap Marais was one of nine children, six sons and two daughters, of whom one brother died in infancy. Marais grew up on the farm Maraisdeel ("Marais’s share") in the district of Vryburg. It originally formed part of the larger farm, Donkerpoort ("Dark port"), which belonged to grandfather Sarel. With his younger brother Jan he attended a local farm school, both using a donkey for transport. Marais matriculated in 1940 at Vryburg Hoërskool. With tensions simmering between Afrikaner nationalism and British nationalism during the Second World War, Marais and a number of his class mates organized a "strike" on 10 October 1940, on account of it being the birthday of former president and bastion of Boer independence, Paul Kruger.
...
Wikipedia