National Party (South Africa)

The National Party (NP) was a major political party in South Africa during most of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1914 by leading Afrikaner nationalists in what were then the Union of South Africa's four provinces. Under the leadership of General J.B.M. Hertzog, the NP first came to power in coalition with the Labour Party in 1924 and governed South Africa for nearly a decade. In 1933, it split into two factions: the Smelter (Fusionist) faction, which merged with the South African Party to form the United Party, and the Gesuiwerde (Purified) faction, which regrouped under the National Party label and became the United Party government's official opposition. In the election of 1948, the revitalized Herenigde (Reunited) National Party and its Afrikaner Party coalition partner unexpectedly won a majority of parliamentary seats, which enabled them to take control of the government and begin implementing the National Party's apartheid policy program. The NP remained in power from 1948 until 1994, when South Africa's first nationwide multiracial election resulted in its ouster by the African National Congress.