Hermanus Jacobus Kriel (14 November 19415 July 2015) was the first

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

of the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province. He previously served as the Minister of Law and Order in the South African government under

Frederik Willem de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South ...

. He was born in 1941 in

Kakamas Kakamas is a town founded in 1898 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. Originated as at a place where the Orange River could be relatively easily crossed. The spot was first known as Basso ...

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

. Kriel served as premier from May 11, 1994 to May 11, 1998 as a member of the National Party. He became known for having questioned the objectivity of the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

and for having advocated for the return of the death penalty. He defected to the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in June 2000; the DP had overtaken the NP as the official opposition in the

National Assembly of South Africa The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation syste ...

after the election held the year before. He was however ranked unfavorably by the DP's electoral college, and would instead later appear on the candidate list for the small

African Christian Democratic Party African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

. Kriel was married to Anna-Mari (née Jooste). He died on 5 July 2015, aged 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kriel, Hernus 1941 births 2015 deaths People from Kakamas Afrikaner people National Party (South Africa) politicians Government ministers of South Africa Premiers of the Western Cape Stellenbosch University alumni