Wilhelm Verwoerd

Wilhelm Johannes Verwoerd (born February 21, 1964)[1] is a South African facilitator and researcher based at Stellenbosch University and a social activist. The grandson of Hendrik Verwoerd, known as the architect of the apartheid regime, Verwoerd has disavowed the views with which his family is widely associated and joined the ANC.[1]

Wilhelm Verwoerd
Born (1964-02-21) 21 February 1964
Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 2005)​
  • Sharon Layton
Children2
Relatives
EducationStellenbosch University
University of Oxford
University of Johannesburg
Scientific career
FieldsReconciliation and Social Justice facilitator and researcher
InstitutionsStellenbosch University

Early life and education

Born in Pretoria to Wilhelm and Elise (née Smit) Verwoerd on 21 February 1964, Wilhelm is a member a prominent Afrikaner family. His grandfather was South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. Although raised in a family and environment that frowned on racial integration, he changed his stance on apartheid after studying in the Netherlands and at Oxford University.

He holds an MA in Philosophy from Stellenbosch University in 1989,[2] an MA in PPE from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Applied Ethics from the University of Johannesburg.[1]

Academic career and later life

Verwoerd's research focuses largely on reconciliation, forgiveness and apology, on which he has written several articles. He was a researcher in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He worked as a programme co-ordinator and a co-facilitator in Ireland, within the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation's Survivors and former Combatants Programme between 2002 and 2011. He is a former co-director of Beyond Walls Ltd. From 2019 he is a senior researcher and facilitator within Studies in Historical Trauma and Transformation, Stellenbosch University.

In 1992, Verwoerd formally joined the ANC, which drew a lot of criticism and threats from militant Afrikaners - given his family roots.[3] This brought strife with his own family.[4]

Personal life

Verwoerd married Melanie Fourie in 1987, with whom he had two children, Wilmé (born 1990) and Wian (born 1992).[5] They divorced in 2005. Wilhelm later married his second wife Sharon, who is Australian.[6]

Select publications

Books
  • Wilhelm Verwoerd (1996). Viva Verwoerd?: kronieke van 'n keuse. Human & Rousseau.
  • Wilhelm Verwoerd (2018). Bloedbande: 'n Donker tuiskoms. Tafelberg.
  • Wilhelm Verwoerd (2019). Verwoerd: My Journey through Family Betrayals. Tafelberg.

Edited books
  • Wilhelm Verwoerd; Charles Villa-Vicencio, eds. (2000). Looking Back Reaching Forward: Reflections on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa. Zed Books. p. 344. ISBN 9781856498197.

Journal articles

References
  1. "Beyond Walls: Wilhelm Verwoerd". Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  2. "MA thesis". 1989. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  3. "Verwoerd's grandson joins ANC". 16 March 2011. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  4. "Young Verwoerd is wrestling with sins of the grandfather". 3 April 1993. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  5. "Deep Reconciliation: Wilhelm Verwoerd and his calling to 'transform apartheid'". Noseweek. No. 242. December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  6. Flanagan, Jane (10 October 2019). "Apartheid architect's grandson fights own battle for reconciliation". The Times. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
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