Tielman Johannes de Villiers Roos (8 May 1879 – 28 March 1935) was a

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

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 ...

n politician and sometime Cabinet minister.

Labour politics

Roos made his name as the leader of a group of young members of the

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 ...

who were opposed to the creation of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

Louis Botha Louis Botha (; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa – the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war hero during the Second Boer War, ...

.'Grey Steel; Part 4, 32: Old Resentments Return'
/ref> Roos and his followers fell in with

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 ...

and he was a founding member of the National Party. As head of the party in

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

Roos sought to build a following amongst the white workers in the area, supporting mine workers' strikes in 1918. Using his as his personal slogan "workers of the world unite and fight for a white South Africa", he was a regular speaker at a series of events in 1922 when white miners went back on strike over wage cuts and an increase in the proportion of black workers allowed.Brian Bunting, ''The Rise of the South African Reich'', Penguin Books, 1969, p. 31 Roos' connections to the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

voters was instrumental in securing the National Party's coalition with the

South African Labour Party The South African Labour Party ( af, Suid-Afrikaanse Arbeidersparty), was a South African political party formed in March 1910 in the newly created Union of South Africa following discussions between trade unions, the Transvaal Independent La ...

that led to their victory in the 1924 election. Indeed attempts between the two parties to reach an agreement during the 1922 strike were even known as "Roos's Parliament" such was his influence at the time.

In government

Roos would serve as Justice Minister from 1924 to 1929. In government he was a strong advocate of

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

but despite this he defended the rights of the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union to organise amongst Black workers in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. He also continued his policy of reaching out to the workers, describing the Labour Party as 'brothers' of the National Party and encouraged working class voters to join the party.

Gold standard

Roos spent three years as a judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal but resigned after criticizing

Prime Minister of South Africa The prime minister of South Africa ( af, Eerste Minister van Suid-Afrika) was the head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984. History of the office The position of Prime Minister was established in 1910, when the Union of Sout ...

James Barry Munnik 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 ...

due to a lack of plans to come off the

gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the la ...

. He then used this issue to relaunch his political career.Grey Steel; Part 7, 60: The Tour Of England And North America
/ref> Roos proposed an alliance 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 ...

to ensure he got his way, although the former PM was unwilling as Roos wanted the Premiership for himself. Ultimately however Roos personal popularity ensured that his demands were agreed to with Finance Minister N.C. Havenga taking the country off gold in a move that led to a widespread economic up-turn. This success of sorts was to be Roos' final contribution to South African politics as, although it had initially been his campaign, support dwindled after the country came off gold. Roos would die soon afterwards. He was a South African Freemason.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roos, Tielman 1879 births 1935 deaths Politicians from Cape Town Afrikaner people 20th-century South African judges Chancellors of the University of Pretoria South African Party (Union of South Africa) politicians National Party (South Africa) politicians Justice ministers of South Africa South African Freemasons