The Dominion Party was a South African political party establish in late October 1934 by dissatisfied 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 Volk South African PartyAfrikaner BondOrangia Unie , merged ...

when that party fused with the National Party to form the United National South African Party, commonly referred to as the "United Party". Its formation was mainly due to distrust of the motives of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

J.B.M. Hertzog and the new Afrikaner nationalist faction he brought into the now-united Party. The party was established principally to maintain South Africa's "British connection" (it campaigned to keep the

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

and

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

in 1938 and to enter the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

in 1939 on the side of Britain) and particularly the Natal's distinct British culture. The Party won 8 seats in the 1938 general election and lost one in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

. General Smuts's United Party won 89 seats in 1943, and had had the support of the two Independents, the Labour Party (9 seats) and the Dominion Party (2 seats). It acquired no seats in 1948 election, and disappeared from national politics. The Dominion Party leader was Colonel C.F. Stallard, who later served as Minister of Mines during the second Ministry of

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 ...

.Kruger above. 172. The withdrawal of Hertzog and his supporters from the UP government in 1939 can be said to have made the party redundant, explaining its later decline.

References

Defunct political parties in South Africa Political parties disestablished in 1948 {{SouthAfrica-poli-stub