State President of South Africa

De Tuynhuys, used as the Cape Town office of the State President, now the office of the President of South Africa

Republicanism had long been a plank in the platform of the ruling National Party. However, it was not until 1960, 12 years after it took power, that it was able to hold a referendum on the issue. A narrow majority — 52 percent — of the minority white electorate voted in favour of abolishing the monarchy and declaring South Africa a republic.

The Republic of South Africa was proclaimed on 31 May 1961. Charles Robberts Swart, the last Governor-General, was sworn in as the first State President. The title 'State President' was originally used for the head of state of the Boer Republics,[1] and like them, the holder of the office wore a sash with the Republic's coat of arms. He was elected to a single seven-year term by the Parliament of South Africa, and was not eligible for re-election.

The National Party decided against having an executive presidency, instead adopting a minimalist approach as a conciliatory gesture to those in the English-speaking community who were opposed to a republic.[2] As such, the State President performed mostly ceremonial duties, and was bound by convention to act on the advice of the Prime Minister and the cabinet.

In practice, the post of State President was a sinecure for retired National Party ministers, as the Governor-General's post had been since 1948. Consequently, all State Presidents from 1961 to 1984 were white, Afrikaner, male, and over 60.

The powers of the State President from 1961 to 1984 was essentially the same as that of the Governor-General of South Africa.

Following constitutional reforms, in 1984, the office of State President became an executive post, as in the United States. The Prime Minister's post was abolished, and its powers were de facto merged with those of the State President. He was elected by an electoral college of 88 members – 50 Whites, 25 Coloureds, and 13 Indians – from among the members of the Tricameral Parliament. The members of the electoral college were elected by the respective racial groups of the Tricameral Parliament – the white House of Assembly, Coloured House of Representatives and Indian House of Delegates. He held office for the Parliament's duration — in practice, five years. The last Prime Minister, P. W. Botha, was elected as the first executive State President. He succeeded the last ceremonial and non-executive State President, Marais Viljoen.

The State President was vested with sweeping executive powers – in most respects, even greater than those of comparative offices like the President of the United States. He had sole jurisdiction over matters of "national" concern, such as foreign policy and race relations. He was chairman of the President's Council, which resolved disputes between the three chambers regarding "general affairs" legislation. This body consisted of 60 members – 20 members appointed by the House of Assembly, 10 by the House of Representatives, five by the House of Delegates and 25 directly by the State President.

Although the reforms were billed as a power-sharing arrangement, the composition of the electoral college and President's Council made it all but impossible for the white chamber to be outvoted on any substantive matter. Thus, the real power remained in white hands – and in practice, in the hands of the National Party, which had a large majority in the white chamber. As Botha was leader of the National Party, the system placed nearly all governing power in his hands.

Botha resigned in 1989 and was succeeded by F. W. de Klerk, who oversaw the transition to majority rule in 1994.

Under South Africa's first non-racial constitution, adopted in 1994, the head of state (and of government) is known simply as the President. However, since the declaration of the republic in 1961, most non-South African sources had referred to the State President as simply the "President", which caused a lot of confusion.[3][4] The leader of the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela, was sworn in as President of South Africa on 10 May 1994.

Political parties

  National Party

Symbols

  Denotes Acting President

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Elected
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
State presidents as head of state (Ceremonial, 1961–1984)
1		Charles Robberts Swart (1894–1982)	31 May 1961	31 May 1967	6 years	National Party	1961
—		Theophilus Ebenhaezer Dönges (1898–1968)	Elected, but did not take office because of illness			National Party	1967
—		Jozua François Naudé (1889–1969) Acting	1 June 1967	10 April 1968	314 days	National Party	—
2		Jacobus Johannes Fouché (1898–1980)	10 April 1968	9 April 1975	6 years, 364 days	National Party	1968
—		Johannes de Klerk (1903–1979) Acting	9 April 1975	19 April 1975	10 days	National Party	—
3		Nicolaas Johannes Diederichs (1903–1978)	19 April 1975	21 August 1978 (Died in office)	3 years, 124 days	National Party	1975
—		Marais Viljoen (1915–2007) Acting	21 August 1978	10 October 1978	50 days	National Party	—
4		Balthazar Johannes Vorster (1915–1983)	10 October 1978	4 June 1979 (Resigned)	237 days	National Party	1978
5		Marais Viljoen (1915–2007)	4 June 1979	19 June 1979	15 days	National Party	–
			19 June 1979	3 September 1984	5 years, 91 days		1979
State presidents as head of state and government (Executive, 1984–1994)
1		Pieter Willem Botha (1916–2006)	3 September 1984	14 September 1984	11 days	National Party	–
			14 September 1984	14 August 1989 (Resigned)	4 years, 334 days		1984
–		Jan Christiaan Heunis (1927–2006) Acting	19 January 1989	15 March 1989	55 days	National Party	–
2		Frederik Willem de Klerk (1936–2021)	14 August 1989	20 September 1989	37 days	National Party	–
			20 September 1989	10 May 1994	4 years, 232 days		1989

• State President of the South African Republic
• State President of the Orange Free State
• Governor-General of the Union of South Africa
• President of South Africa
• Prime Minister of South Africa
• Vice State President of South Africa

Wikimedia Commons has media related to State Presidents of South Africa.

• List of Presidents
• Lists of Heads of state with links to bios