Theunis Louis "Theuns" Botha is a retired South African politician of the Democratic Alliance. Previously, he served as the Western Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health. He also served as a

Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) is the designation given to members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.{{cite web , url=http://www.wcpp.gov.za/content.aspx?pageId=f2264ae2-735f-4add-b532-3 ...

from 2004 to 2015. He was Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Parliament from 2004 to 2009 and Leader of the Democratic Alliance in 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 ...

from 2002 to 2012. Botha was also Deputy Provincial Leader of the party from 2012 to 2015.

Career

Prior to entering provincial politics, Botha was elected as a councillor of the Riversdale Municipality in 1995. In 2000, he was elected Mayor of the Hessequa Local Municipality. In 2001, Botha was elected Western Cape Provincial Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance. He was designated to succeed

Gerald Morkel Gerald Morkel (2 February 1941 – 9 January 2018) was the Mayor of Cape Town and Premier of the Western Cape province in South Africa. He later served as a member of the Cape Town City Council for the Democratic Alliance until his retirement fr ...

as Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance, after Morkel had announced that he would resign the role. He was elected to a full term as Provincial Leader in March 2003, after he defeated Sydney Opperman, Tony da Silva and Pauline Cupido. Botha was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in 2004 and took office as a Member on 26 April 2004. He was designated to the position of Leader of the Opposition of the legislature. He was re-elected to a second term as Provincial Leader after he defeated

Lennit Max Lennit Hendry Max (born 1961/62) is a South African politician, advocate and police officer who served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (2014–2018; 2004–2010), as Shadow Deputy Minister of Correctional Services (2010– ...

with about 69 percent of the vote. In 2006 Botha formed a cabal of ex-New National Party stalwarts within the Democratic Alliance. Together with Dan Roodt, the far-right founder of the pro-Afrikaans Action Group (PRAAG), their new organisation, tentatively named the "Republican Party", would unite Afrikaans-speakers (both coloured and white) with Zulu-speakers led by Jacob Zuma, who had been fired as deputy president and was in the political wilderness. In September 2007, when cabal members Kent Morkel and Kobus Brynard walked out, Theuns Botha unexpectedly decided to stay in the DA as provincial leader. In 2009, the Democratic Alliance won a majority in the Provincial Parliament. Botha was appointed to the post of Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health. He was succeeded by

Lynne Brown Lynne Brown (born 26 September 1961) is a South African politician who is a former Minister of Public Enterprises and former Premier of the Western Cape Province. She was born in Cape Town and grew up in Mitchells Plain. She was appointed Premie ...

as Leader of the Opposition. He was re-elected to another term as Provincial Leader in 2010 after he had defeated

Dan Plato Daniel Plato (born 5 October 1960), known as Dan Plato, is a South African politician and a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since January 2022, previously serving from June 2011 until October 2018. He is the former mayor of Cap ...

and

. Botha announced his intention to stand down as Provincial Leader of the party in 2012 and opted to run for the post of Deputy Provincial Leader. He was succeeded by

Ivan Meyer Ivan Henry Meyer (born 28 March 1962) is a South African politician who has been serving as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Agriculture since 2019. He has held multiple positions in the provincial cabinet. Meyer was elected to the Weste ...

as Provincial Leader, and Botha was elected Deputy Provincial Leader. During a parliamentary debate in May 2013, Botha was accused of using the racist Afrikaans slur "bobbejaan" (baboon) in reference to African National Congress member Zodwa Magwaza. Botha denied his words but, after review of the Hansard record by the Speaker, he was forced to apologise. In December 2014, Premier

Helen Zille Otta Helene Maree (''née'' Zille ; born 9 March 1951), known as Helen Zille, is a South African politician. She has served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance since 20 October 2019. From 2009 until 2019, she w ...

announced that Botha and

Nomafrench Mbombo Nomafrench Mbombo (born 6 September 1966) is a South African academic and politician who has been the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health since 2015 and a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since 2014. She previously served a ...

would exchange ministerial positions. Botha would become Western Cape Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, while Mbombo would take his position. The changes came into effect on 1 January 2015. Botha was unseated as Deputy Provincial Leader by

Bonginkosi Madikizela Bonginkosi Success Madikizela (born 15 March 1975) is a South African politician. Born in Port Shepstone, in the province of Natal, Madikizela soon moved to Khayelitsha and became politically active in the area. He was a member of the African N ...

in April 2015. Madikizela won by a narrow margin. Botha subsequently announced his resignation from the Western Cape Government and Provincial Parliament and was succeeded by

Anroux Marais Anroux Johanna Marais (née Du Toit; born 8 December 1956) is a South African politician of the Democratic Alliance (DA). She has been serving as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport since 2015. She has been a Memb ...

as provincial minister. Botha has since returned to the private sector and in 2017 he joined Medicoop co-operative bank as managing director. In 2018 Botha was back in the public eye when he used social media to heavily criticise the handling of the water shortage by the Democratic Alliance In June 2019 he was investigated for the alleged theft of 40,000 litres of water per day from his neighbour in Riversdale.Ex-DA leader caught in water dispute: Dominic Adriaanse, Cape Times 24 June 2019

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Botha, Theuns Living people Afrikaner people Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament Year of birth missing (living people) Mayors of places in South Africa 20th-century South African politicians 21st-century South African politicians People from Hessequa Local Municipality