The Herenigde Nasionale Party (Reunited National Party) was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
during the 1940s. It was the product of the reunion of
Daniel François Malan
Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party implemented the system of apartheid, which enforce ...
's
Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party
The Purified National Party ( af, Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party) was a break away from Hertzog's National Party which lasted from 1935 to 1948
In 1935 the main portion of the National Party, led by J. B. M. Hertzog, merged with the South African P ...
(Purified National Party) and
J.B.M. Hertzog
General James Barry Munnik Hertzog (3 April 1866 – 21 November 1942), better known as Barry Hertzog or J. B. M. Hertzog, was a South African politician and soldier. He was a Boer general during the Second Boer War who served ...
's breakaway Afrikaner nationalist faction of the
United Party in 1940.
In 1934,
J. B. M. Hertzog
General James Barry Munnik Hertzog (3 April 1866 – 21 November 1942), better known as Barry Hertzog or J. B. M. Hertzog, was a South African politician and soldier. He was a Boer general during the Second Boer War who serve ...
had fused his
National Party with
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
's
South African Party
nl, Zuidafrikaanse Partij
, leader1_title = Leader (s)
, leader1_name = Louis Botha,Jan Smuts, Barry Hertzog
, foundation =
, dissolution =
, merger = Het VolkSouth African PartyAfrikaner BondOrangia Unie
, merged ...
to form the
United Party due to pressure from the electorate during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. He split away in 1939, however, because he could not tolerate the idea of entering
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
on the side of the British.
Hertzog briefly led the new party but resigned after Malan and his faction rejected Hertzog's proposed platform of equality between British South Africans and Afrikaners. As a result, Malan became party leader and resumed his position as
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
. The Herenigde Nasionale Party gained popularity after the war and unexpectedly won the
elections of 1948 with a majority of seats but a significant minority of the popular vote. Internationally it is known for the implementation of
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 ...
. After 1948, the HNP merged with the
Afrikaner Party
The Afrikaner Party (AP) was a South African political party from 1941 to 1951.
Origins
The Afrikaner Party's roots can be traced back to September 1939, when South Africa declared war on Germany shortly after the start of World War II. The then ...
, another Afrikaner nationalist party led by one of Hertzog's protégés, and reverted to the short name, the
Nasionale Party (National Party), which it retained until shortly after the fall of apartheid during the 1990s.
The initials of the Herenigde Nasionale Party, HNP, were later used by a breakaway party that was established in 1969, the rightwing
Herstigte Nasionale Party
The Herstigte Nasionale Party (Reconstituted National Party) is a South African political party which was formed as a far-right splinter group of the now defunct National Party in 1969. The party name was commonly abbreviated as HNP, evokin ...
(Reconstituted National Party).
{{Political history of South Africa, state=collapsed
1940 establishments in South Africa
Afrikaner nationalism
Defunct political parties in South Africa
Nationalist parties in South Africa
Organisations associated with apartheid
Political parties established in 1940
Political parties with year of disestablishment missing
Protestant political parties
White nationalist parties