Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (1894–1948)

Infobox Officeholder
name = Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr


imagesize =
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office = Administrator of the Transvaal
term_start = 1924
term_end = 1929
vicepresident =
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deputy =
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successor =
office2 = Minister of Finance and Education
term_start2 = 1939
term_end2 = 1948
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monarch2 =
president2 =
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predecessor2 =
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constituency2 =
majority2 =
office3 = Deputy Prime Minister
term_start3 = 1943
term_end3 = 1948
birth_date = Birth date|1894|3|20
birth_place = Cape Town, South Africa
death_date = Death date and age|1948|12|3|1894|3|20
death_place = Johannesburg, South Africa
nationality =
party = South African Party
United Party
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alma_mater = University of Oxford
University of Cape Town
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:"See also his uncle, Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (Onze Jan)"

Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (March 20, 1894 – December 3, 1948) was a South African politician in the years preceding Apartheid.

Biography

Hofmeyr was born in Cape Town and raised by his widowed mother. He was educated first at the South African College Schools and then at the University of Cape Town. He was a strong student, graduating M.A. at the age of 17.

From Cape Town he went to Balliol College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he had a distinguished academic career, being first in Classical Moderations and Greats. In later years he became an Honorary Fellow of Balliol. On returning from Oxford in 1916 he was appointed to the Chair of Classics at the South African College, Cape Town, and in 1917 he became professor at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

In 1921 he published, in collaboration with Prof. T. J. Haarhoff, a pamphlet entitled "Studies in Ancient Imperialism", an analysis of the later Roman empire. He left the University in 1924 to become Administrator of the Transvaal. After five years he relinquished his position as administrator and went into active politics, subsequently becoming a member of parliament.

Hofmeyr entered Parliament as a supporter of Smut’s South African Party. He helped to negotiate the coalition of 1933 and the fusion of parties which followed it. Thus, he spent the rest of his life as a member of the United Party. When the Party split over the war issue in 1939, Hofmeyr followed Smuts and that year became Minister of Finance and Education. He soon became the closest advisor to Jan Smuts. He acted as Prime Minister several times during the Second World War, in which Smuts was heavily involved.

Hofmeyr was not always an easy colleague, not because of any natural asperity but as a result of his inflexible adherence to principle. He opposed the removal of the Black franchise in 1936 by Hertzog, an issue on which the other South African Party ministers were willing to give the incumbent Prime Minister their support. When Hertzog appointed APJ Fourie to the Senate as a minister of the special group nominated as being "acquainted with the reasonable wants and wishes of the Coloured people of South Africa", Hofmeyr felt that the new senator had none of these qualifications and he not only resigned from the Cabinet, but left his party caucus.

His insight into racial issues was captured in a statement he made in 1943: "... it is not to be desired that he (the African) should merely become an imitation European, cut adrift from his past." [ [http://zar.co.za/hofmeyr.htm Biography of Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr] ] His views on the Indian question more than once severely strained his relationship with his own party. Honorary degrees were conferred on him by the University of Cape Town (D.Sc), Witwatersrand (LLD) and Oxford (D.C.L.).

Hofmeyr is widely regarded as a liberal and an opponent of racial segregation, having once stated "I take my stand on the ultimate removal of the colour bar from our constitution." [ [ [http://au.encarta.msn.com Ninemsn Encarta : Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Atlas, and Study ] at au.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580076/Hofmeyr_Jan_Hendrik_(1894-1948).html "Hofmeyr, Jan Hendrik (1894-1948)"] , Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008http://au.encarta.msn.com © 1997-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.] His general attitude—which was his strength to many—was, in the eyes of a section of his own party, his weakness: they were not willing to go so far, and after the electoral defeat of the United Party in 1948 many of them virtually repudiated him. He was a constant target for the increasingly jingoistic Afrikaans press, which ridiculed his dreams of a non-racial society.

Hofmeyr died in Johannesburg on 3 December 1948, the year that the National Party came to power.

Works

* "History and Control of National Debts" (1918)
* "Studies in Ancient Imperialism" (1921)
* "South Africa" (1931)
* "The Open Horizon" (1939)

References

Persondata
NAME= Hofmeyr, Jan Hendrik
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Pre-Apartheid South African minister
DATE OF BIRTH= March 20, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH= Cape Town, South Africa
DATE OF DEATH= December 3, 1948
PLACE OF DEATH= Johannesburg, South Africa