Helenard Joe Hendrickse (22 October 1927 – 16 March 2005), popularly known as Allan Hendrickse, was a South African politician, Congregationalist minister and teacher. He participated in an act of defiance by swimming at a South African beach reserved for

Whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

only.

Personal life

Hendrickse was born in

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

and studied at

Fort Hare University The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub ...

in the Eastern Cape, where he met key ANC figures

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Higher education Oliv ...

, and future

President of Zimbabwe The president of Zimbabwe is the head of state of Zimbabwe and head of the executive branch of the government of Zimbabwe. The president chairs the national cabinet and is the chief commanding authority of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The in ...

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

. He married in 1957 and had four children. Hendrickse died of a heart attack at Port Elizabeth Airport on 16 March 2005, aged 77.

Political career

In 1969, he became one of the founders of the Labour Party, which represented

Coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

people on the Coloured Peoples' Representative Council. He helped open "Coloured" schools to students of all races.Recipients of the Order of the Baobab in Silver.
The Presidency of South Africa. After 1984, the Labour Party dominated the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, one of the houses in South Africa's

Tricameral Parliament The Tricameral Parliament, officially the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, was the legislature of South Africa between 1984 and 1994, established by the South African Constitution of 1983, which gave a limited political voice to t ...

, and Hendrickse served in

P. W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, (; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as P. W. and af, Die Groot Krokodil (The Big Crocodile), was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and ...

's Cabinet. Hendrickse and Labour drew the ire of the United Democratic Front and

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

for this collaboration with

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

; Hendrickse defended himself on the grounds that he would oppose apartheid from within.Obituary in ''The Guardian''
/ref> His swim at a whites-only beach took place in 1987; on Botha's demand, Hendrickse later apologized for the swim. Hendrickse ultimately resigned from Botha's cabinet on 24 August 1987. Botha wished to postpone elections until 1992. His justification was that the extended term was required in order to push planned reforms. Hendrickse's approval was needed, as postponing the election required the approval of all

three houses Three Houses can refer to * ''Three Houses'' (musical), 2024 chamber musical * Three Houses, Barbados Three Houses is a small village in Saint Philip Parish in Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West In ...

. He initially backed the decision, however, Botha's refusal to schedule reforms and disregard for Hendrickse and the Labour Party, led Hendrickse to reconsider. Botha became enraged, insulting Hendrickse, the Labour Party and the Coloureds. Hendrickse announced his resignation to the House of Representatives, who had already endorsed his decision. Hendrickse lost control of the House of Representatives in 1992 after losing a confidence vote to Labour members who had

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

to the National Party, led by

Jac Rabie Jacobus Albert Rabie (August 1938 – 29 April 2008) was a South African politician who was Minister for Population Development under President F. W. de Klerk from 1993 to 1994. He served in the apartheid-era House of Representatives througho ...

, and independents. Hendrickse led the remains of the Labour Party into the ANC in 1994. He served as an ANC MP from that year until his retirement from politics in 1999. He was awarded the

Order of the Baobab The Order of the Baobab is a South African civilian national honour, awarded to those for service in business and the economy; science, medicine, and for technological innovation; and community service. It was instituted on 6 December 2002, and i ...

(Silver Class) in 2004.ANC statement on the death of Allan Hendrickse
A letter signed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

and read at Hendrickse's funeral saluted him as a "freedom fighter and architect of democracy".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrickse, Allan 1927 births 2005 deaths People from Uitenhage Cape Coloureds Labour Party (South Africa, 1969) politicians African National Congress politicians Government ministers of South Africa Members of the House of Representatives of South Africa Members of the National Assembly of South Africa University of Fort Hare alumni