Pieter Johannes Meyer (22 January 1909 - 1984), a South African, was an influential Afrikaner in the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

and chairman of the

Afrikaner Broederbond The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist and male secret society in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merwe, ...

Roots

Meyer was born on 22 January 1909 in Ladybrand, Orange Free state, South Africa. Son of Izak Andries Meyer and Judith Jacoba van Huyssteen. He married Isabella Jacobs. He died in 1984.

Education

He obtained a BA degree, a Higher Educational diploma, a MA(Psychology) and a M.Ed. from 1929 to 1934 at the University of the Free State in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...

. He studied at the

Vrije universiteit The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

and completed his PhD at the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

in 1937.

Career

In 1943 he open a publishing business, called L en S Boek & Kunsentrum. There after Meyer worked as a public relations officer at The

Rembrandt Group The Rembrandt Group, officially known as Rembrandt Trust (Proprietary) Limited, is a South African tobacco and industrial conglomerate founded by Afrikaner tycoon Dr Anton Rupert who oversaw its eventual transition to the industrial and luxury br ...

. In 1959 he was appointed as director-general of the SABC, in which he remained until 1980. He was chairman of the Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) from 1960-1972. This was a secret white Afrikaner male organization.

Randse Afrikaanse University

As early as in 1955 a committee was founded by Afrikaans cultural organizations to establish an Afrikaans university in Johannesburg. Meyer was chairman of the committee and Hennie Roux secretary. Meyer was in the management-leadership-team of the FAK. They hand over a report to the government and it was accepted and the university started in 1966. He was also the Chancellor of the University from 1978-1983. They honoured him with an honorary doctorate.

SABC

When Meyer started in 1959 the Corporation only broadcasting 350 hours per week. At his retirement from the corporation it broadcast 1050 hours per week and had radio stations most indigenous languages. He has overseen the introduction of Television broadcasting in South Africa in 1976. In 1961 he visited 18 cities world-wide and interviewed experts on radio and television.

The interest of the Afrikaner

Meyer had the interest of the Afrikaner at heart. He worked with Dr Albert Hertzog in the 1930s (as member of the National Party) to make sure that the Afrikaner mineworkers find a place in the trade unions. He was a key figure in establishing the Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit in 1966. Through his position in the Afrikaner Broederbond he was able to influence both the SABC and the Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit. In 1948 the South African Government declared Communism illegal. Churches formed an Anti-Communist Committee to protect Afrikaners against communism. Meyer was the second chairman of this committee replacing Diederichs, N.J. He was also a writer of books on history of the Afrikaner.

Recognition

He received apart from the one given by Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit honorary doctorates from the University of the Free State and

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

. A bronze bust of him was erected in the foyer of the SABC’s head office building in Auckland Park

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, but it was later removed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Pieter Johannes 1909 births 1984 deaths University of the Free State alumni University of South Africa alumni People from Ladybrand Afrikaner people