Willem (Willie) Abraham van Niekerk (29 June 1937 in

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 ...

– 8 August 2009) was a South African physician, professor, and politician. Van Niekerk was

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

in the government of

P. W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, (; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as P. W. and af, Die Groot Krokodil (The Big Crocodile), was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and ...

from 1985 to 1989 and

Administrator-General of South West Africa This article lists the colonial governors of South West Africa. South West Africa was the colonial predecessor of the modern day Republic of Namibia from when the territory was controlled by the German Empire (as German South West Africa) and l ...

from 1983 to 1985. He specialized in

cytogenetics Cytogenetics is essentially a branch of genetics, but is also a part of cell biology/cytology (a subdivision of human anatomy), that is concerned with how the chromosomes relate to cell behaviour, particularly to their behaviour during mitosis an ...

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

, and

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

Biography

Van Niekerk was born in

and grew up on the family farm located in the Orange Free State. He studied medicine and surgery at the

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

, and graduated in 1959. He worked as a researcher for the Roswell Park Memorial Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, United States, before returning to

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 ...

in 1960 where he worked at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pretoria. In 1965, he became a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (MRCOG) in London. Van Niekerk became a Fellow of the College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FRCOG) in 1971. In 1969, he was appointed a lecturer/consultant at the University of Pretoria where he taught. In 1970, he moved to the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

where he was given a full professorship and made Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Van Niekerk left the University of Stellenbosch in 1982 to enter politics. He renounced his presidency of the International Academy of Cytology in 1983, and was appointed administrator of

South-West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

. He was appointed

and Population Development in the Cabinet of P. W. Botha from 1985–89 and served on the President's Council from 1989. In 1992, as the National Party began to lose their grip on power, Niekerk left politics to return to the private sector as a Gynaecologist in the suburbs of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He retired in 2004. Van Niekerk is the author of over 27 publications on cytology, cytogenetics, gynaecology and obstetrics, gynaecological pathologies. He was the first to describe the cytological appearance of cervical cells in folate deficiency, which had certain similarities with pre-neoplastic changes (Nel, JT). His doctoral thesis on

hermaphroditism In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have s ...

, published in 1972, is considered the authoritative work on the subject. He became an honorary member of the combination of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Gynecological Society in 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Niekerk, Willie Health ministers of South Africa South African obstetricians 1937 births 2009 deaths People from Pretoria Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent University of Pretoria alumni Stellenbosch University faculty South African gynaecologists 20th-century South African physicians 21st-century South African physicians