Carol Beatrix Johnson (born 4 July 1972) is a South African politician who served in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2009. She was the spin doctor of the New National Party (NNP) until September 2005, when she

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 join the African National Congress (ANC).

Political career

Johnson was born on 4 July 1972. She was the national spokesman and

spin doctor In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publi ...

for the NNP in the early 2000s and was viewed as one of the "top lieutenants" of party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk. In the 2004 general election, she was elected to an NNP seat in the National Assembly, representing the Western Cape constituency. During the election period, she told the ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' that the NNP would "be around for a long time to come". However, when van Schalkwyk announced in August 2004 that he intended to join the ANC, Johnson said that she would follow him: she, van Schalkwyk, and six other NNP members announced that they intended to defect from the party to the ANC during the next floor-crossing period. She officially remained an NNP member until 1 September 2005, when, at the outset of the 2005 floor-crossing window, she formally joined the ANC. She left her seat after the 2009 general election.

Personal life

Johnson married politician

Willie Aucamp Willem Abraham Stephanus Aucamp is a South African politician from the Northern Cape. He has been a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces since 2019. He is one of six permanent delegates from the Northern Cape and is a member of ...

, the son of

Cassie Aucamp Casperus "Cassie" Aucamp (born 10 December 1950) is a retired South African politician and former Christian minister who was the inaugural leader of the Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging (AEB) and later the inaugural leader of Nasionale Aksie (NA). ...

, on 10 July 2004 in the Stellenbosch Dutch Reformed Church. Their marriage followed a "whirlwind romance" that began on election night in April 2004. When Johnson left the NNP, Aucamp left his own party,

Nasionale Aksie The National Action (more commonly known by its Afrikaans name, ''Nasionale Aksie'') was a short-lived South African political party formed by Cassie Aucamp when he left the Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging (AEB) in the 2003 floor-crossing window. The ...

, to join the ANC with her. She filed for divorce shortly afterwards in September 2004.

References

African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 21st-century South African politicians 21st-century South African women politicians Living people {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Carol 1972 births