Jurie Mentz

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Jurie Mentz
Member of the National Assembly
In office
May 1994 –June 1999
Personal details
Born1925or1926(age 98–99)
Citizenship South Africa
Political party

Jurie Hendrik Wynand Mentz is a South African politician who served in Parliament until 1999. He represented the National Party (NP) in the House of Assembly during apartheid, but in 1993 he defected to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). He subsequently represented the IFP in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1999.

Political career

Mentz was born in 1925 or 1926. [1] During apartheid, he represented the NP in the House of Assembly, serving the Vryheid constituency in northern Natal province. [2] By 1989, he was the chairman of the NP's caucus in the house. [3]

On 28 January 1993, [2] he announced his defection from the NP to the IFP, which he subsequently campaigned for ahead of the 1994 general election. [4] [1] He told the Los Angeles Times that he had defected after visiting Eastern Europe and seeing the effect of communist policies on "the people and the economy". [5] He said:

We can't afford this experiment... People are starting to realize they must make a choice, and the black leader acceptable to them is [IFP leader] Mangosuthu Buthelezi. [5]

In the 1994 election, Mentz was elected to a single term in an IFP seat in the new multi-racial National Assembly. [6] [7] He left Parliament after the 1999 general election.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Inkatha supporters again defy army with display of weapons". The Independent. 13 April 1994. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 Aitchison, John (2015). Numbering the dead: the course and pattern of political violence in the Natal Midlands, 1987–1989. Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. p. 203. ISBN   978-0-9921766-3-1. OCLC   939487295.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ↑ "PW stuns the Nats". The Mail & Guardian. 3 February 1989. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Paul (23 December 1993). "S. Africa approves charter". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Fearing ANC, Whites Turn to Inkatha". Los Angeles Times. 5 March 1993. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "Members of the National Assembly". Parliament of South Africa. 3 June 1998. Archived from the original on 28 June 1998. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "Minutes of proceedings of the Constitutional Assembly" (PDF). Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. 24 May 1994. Retrieved 2 April 2023.


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