Sam de Beer

Samuel Johannes de Beer (born 19 August 1944) is a South African politician and former Christian minister who served in Parliament from 1974 to 2001, excepting a brief hiatus from 1998 to 1999. He subsequently joined the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

"Samuel de Beer" redirects here. For the New Zealand scholar, see Esmond Samuel de Beer.

Sam de Beer
Member of the National Assembly
In office
June 1999 – February 2001
In office
May 1994 – August 1998
Member of the House of Assembly
Assembly Member
for Geduld
In office
1974–1994
Personal details
Born
Samuel Johannes de Beer

(1944-08-19) 19 August 1944
Johannesburg, Transvaal
University of South Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress (since 2001)
Other political
affiliations
Alma materUniversity of Pretoria

A former Dutch Reformed Church minister, de Beer entered politics during apartheid through the National Party (NP), which he represented in the House of Assembly from 1974 to 1994, serving the Geduld constituency. During that time, from 1991, he also served as Minister for Education and Training under President F. W. de Klerk. After South Africa's democratic transition, he represented the NP in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1998 and as NP leader in Gauteng from 1997 to 1998.

In August 1998, de Beer defected to the United Democratic Movement (UDM), which he went on to represent in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2001. In February 2001, he defected for a second time, leaving the UDM for the African National Congress (ANC). In March 2001, he joined the Gauteng Provincial Legislature under the ANC banner.

Early life and career

De Beer was born on 19 August 1944[1] in Johannesburg in the former Transvaal.[2] He completed two undergraduate degrees, one in theology, from the University of Pretoria, where he was a member of the national executive of the Afrikaanse Studentebond from 1965 to 1967.[2] After graduating, he was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, first in Magaliesburg and then in Springs.[2]

In 1974, de Beer was elected to a National Party (NP) seat in the House of Assembly, representing the Transvaal's Geduld constituency.[2] He served in Parliament for the next two decades. After chairing the East Rand branch of the NP from 1983 to 1984, he was Deputy Minister of Education and Development Aid from 1984 to 1989.[2][3] In 1991, President F. W. de Klerk appointed him to the cabinet as Minister for Education and Training, a portfolio which included administration of the Bantu education system.[4][2]

Post-apartheid political career

The 1994 general election was held under universal suffrage and de Beer was elected to represent the NP in the new multi-racial National Assembly.[2] During the legislative term that followed, in June 1997, he was elected to succeed Roelf Meyer as leader of the NP's Gauteng provincial branch, narrowly defeating Fanus Schoeman.[5] When de Klerk resigned as the party's national leader weeks later, de Beer ran to succeed him in a contest against Danie Schutte and Marthinus van Schalkwyk;[6] van Schalkwyk prevailed, but de Beer retained his position as Gauteng leader.[7]

In August 1998, de Beer resigned as NP provincial leader and as a Member of Parliament in order to defect from the NP (by then restyled as the New National Party) to the United Democratic Movement (UDM).[8] He appeared on the UDM's party list in the 1999 general election and was returned to a seat in the National Assembly.[9] However, he again failed to complete his term in the seat: in February 2001, he announced that he had resigned from the UDM, and would therefore lose his parliamentary seat.[10] He said:

[The] optimistic expectations that I had of the UDM's potential of achieving its goals, as expressed in its election manifesto, have faded away. Under these circumstances it is only fair to make room for somebody who can still work with enthusiasm for the party. I see the last two and a half years involvement in establishing a new, young party – with its main aim to bring all South Africans together in one party – as a privilege and a great experience.[10]

He also accused Roelf Meyer, the UDM's co-founder and his former NP colleague, of having abandoned the UDM, saying "It could have been a totally different sorry if Roelf had not done that".[10] De Beer subsequently joined the governing African National Congress (ANC), and in mid-March he was sworn in to an ANC seat in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.[11] He was re-elected to a full term in the provincial legislature in the 2004 general election.[1]

References
  1. "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. "De Beer, Samuel Johannes (Sam)". The O'Malley Archives. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  3. "Teachers boycott their own classes". The Mail & Guardian. 18 February 1988. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  4. "De Klerk Seeks to Regain Credibility With New Cabinet". Christian Science Monitor. 31 July 1991. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  5. "Police to probe fake bubbly scandal". The Mail & Guardian. 9 June 1997. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  6. "FW's heir was MI agent". The Mail & Guardian. 29 August 1997. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  7. "Chaskalson proposes law internship". The Mail & Guardian. 3 November 1997. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  8. "De Beer quits Nats". The Mail & Guardian. 14 August 1998. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  9. "Holomisa slates big business". The Mail & Guardian. 4 June 1999. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  10. "De Beer sets sights on ANC". News24. 14 February 2001. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  11. "Former NP MP heaps praise on ANC". News24. 16 March 2001. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
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