Wyatt Vause Raw, DMS (21 September 1921 – 13 March 2001) was a conservative opposition

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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

of the

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 ...

era. He was a prominent member of the United Party from the 1940s to the late 1970s, and the leader of the succeeding New Republic Party (NRP).

Early life

Raw was born 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 ...

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

in 1921. He matriculated from Pretoria Boys High and subsequently attended the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

and the Johannesburg Teachers' Training College before enlisting with the

South African forces The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

in May 1940, and went on to serve in the military in

central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

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. He joined his father in a farming and trading venture from 1946 to 1950, served as secretary to the

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

District Farmers' Union, and was appointed a director of the Waterberg Farmers' Co-operative. In 1954, he became sales manager of a textile knitting mill, and from 1956 to 1981 ran his own textile and clothing machinery agency.

Politics

Raw was known for his support of ex-servicemen. He published ''Flares'', a collection of war poems written during his military service. He was vice chairman of the United Party's Pretoria District and was elected to the divisional committee in 1948, where he served until 1950. In 1951, he was appointed Natal secretary of the party. He became a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for Natal in 1955, and won the

Durban Point Durban Point was a constituency that elected one member to the Parliament of South Africa. Members * Vernon Shearer (1938–1958) * Vause Raw Wyatt Vause Raw, DMS (21 September 1921 – 13 March 2001) was a conservative opposition South Af ...

parliamentary seat An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

for the party in 1958. He became the party's official spokesperson on defence and transport. In that position, he cooperated well with the National Party's

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

, even managing to secure concessions such as amendments to bills.

Helen Suzman Helen Suzman, OMSG, DBE (née Gavronsky; 7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. She represented a series of liberal and centre-left opposition parties during her 36-year tenure in th ...

characterised Raw as a "very

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, authorit ...

United Party member", and identified him as one of the reasons she left the party. The United Party disbanded in 1977. Its successor, the NRP, elected Raw as national chairman in 1978, and as its national leader later in the same year. Raw discredited the party in a string of by-election defeats from 1977 to 1980, by making "extravagant" claims of support and predicting victory in areas where the party had no prospects. He nevertheless continued in his capacity as leader until 1984. He served for many years in the whites-only parliament as the Member of Parliament for Durban's Point constituency. In 1985, he was awarded the

Decoration for Meritorious Services The Decoration for Meritorious Services was an honour conferred until 1987 by the Government of the Republic of South Africa, usually for political services to the country. The appointments were made by the State President of South Africa. Pos ...

; he was the first serving opposition MP to receive it. He was also a lifelong honorary colonel of 38 Field Workshop Regiment. He retired from Parliament just before the 1987 general election.

Death

He died in March 2001 after a long illness. Twice married, he was the father of seven children.

Early life

Politics

Death

References

Further reading