Piet Marais

Last updated

Piet Marais
House of Assembly
Assembly Member
for Stellenbosch
In office
1982–1994
Personal details
Born
Pieter Gabriel Marais

Stellenbosch, Cape Province
Union of South Africa
Died(2001-12-28)28 December 2001
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
Republic of South Africa
Political party National Party

Pieter Gabriel Marais (died 28 December 2001) was a South African politician who served as the last Minister of Education of the apartheid era. He represented the National Party (NP) in the House of Assembly from 1982 to 1994, serving the Stellenbosch constituency, and went on to represent the NP in the first democratic Parliament from 1994 until his retirement in 1999.

Contents

Life and career

Marais entered the House of Assembly in a by-election in 1982 and served as MP for his hometown, Stellenbosch. [1] He was a member of the NP's progressive verligte ("enlightened") caucus, which supported reforming the apartheid system. [1] [2] Under President F. W. de Klerk, he served as minister for white education during the democratic transition, and in that capacity he was involved in constitutional negotiations. [1]

In the 1994 general election, Marais was elected to represent the NP in the new National Assembly, [3] though he was transferred to the National Council of Provinces during the legislative term. [1] [4] He was the NP's lead negotiator in negotiations on the education clause of the 1996 Constitution, [5] and he also served as an adviser to NP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk. [1] He retired from politics in 1999 and died on 28 December 2001 in Stellenbosch, several weeks after being diagnosed with liver cancer. [1]

Personal life

He was married to Annatjie Marais, with whom he had three children. [1]

Related Research Articles

The Republic of South Africa is a unitary parliamentary democratic republic. The President of South Africa serves both as head of state and as head of government. The President is elected by the National Assembly and must retain the confidence of the Assembly in order to remain in office. South Africans also elect provincial legislatures which govern each of the country's nine provinces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Party (South Africa)</span> Political party in South Africa

The Democratic Party (DP) was a South African political party that was the forerunner of the Democratic Alliance. Although the Democratic Party name dates from 1989, the party existed under other labels throughout the apartheid years, when it was the Parliamentary opposition to the ruling National Party's policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Party (South Africa)</span> 1914–1997 political party known for implementing apartheid

The National Party, also known as the Nationalist Party, was a political party in South Africa from 1914 to 1997, which was responsible for the implementation of apartheid rule. The party was an Afrikaner ethnic nationalist party, which initially promoted the interests of Afrikaners but later became a stalwart promoter and enactor of white supremacy, for which it is best known. It first became the governing party of the country in 1924. It merged with its rival, the SAP, during the Great Depression, and a splinter faction became the official opposition during World War II and returned to power. With the National Party governing South Africa from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994, the country for the bulk of this time was only a de jure or partial democracy, as from 1958 onwards non-white people were barred from voting. In 1990, it began to style itself as simply a South African civic nationalist party, and after the fall of apartheid in 1994, attempted to become a moderate conservative one. The party's reputation was damaged irreparably by perpetrating apartheid, and it rebranded itself as the New National Party in 1997 before eventually dissolving in 2005.

Frederik van Zyl Slabbert GCOB was a South African political analyst, businessman and politician. He is best known for having been the leader of the official opposition – the Progressive Federal Party (PFP) – in the House of Assembly from 1979 to 1986.

Sheila Margaret Camerer is a retired South African politician and was a Member of Parliament of the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance(DA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roelf Meyer</span> South African politician and businessman

Roelof Petrus MeyerGCOB is a South African politician and businessman. A Member of Parliament between 1979 and 1997, he was the chief negotiator for the National Party government during the negotiations to end apartheid. He later co-founded the United Democratic Movement.

Jacobus Tertius Delport was a South African academic, lawyer, and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kobus Marais</span> South African politician

Sarel Jacobus Francois "Kobus" Marais is a South African politician who served as a Member of Parliament with the Democratic Alliance from 2006 until 2024.

André Hurtley Gaum is a South African lawyer and politician who is currently serving as a full-time commissioner at the South African Human Rights Commission. He formerly served in the National Assembly, representing the African National Congress (ANC) and before that the New National Party (NNP). He was the Deputy Minister of Education from November 2008 to May 2009.

Jan Hendrik "Jannie" Momberg was a South African politician, businessman, and sports administrator who served in the South African Parliament from 1989 to 2001. A former member of the National Party (NP), Momberg's opposition to apartheid led him to become a founding member of the Democratic Party in 1989, and he joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1992.

Theodorus Gerhardus "Theo" Alant is a South African politician who represented the National Party (NP) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1999. He was elected in the 1994 general election and served as the NP's spokesperson on finance.

Renier Stephanus Schoeman is a South African politician, businessman and former civil servant who represented the National Party (NP) and New National Party (NNP) in Parliament from 1985 to 2004. He was the provincial leader of the NNP in KwaZulu-Natal from 1999 until the party's demise.

Stefanus Johannes "Fanus" Schoeman is a South African politician and diplomat who represented the National Party (NP) in Parliament until 1999. Formerly the leader of the NP in Pretoria, he became a diplomat after leaving Parliament.

Nicolaas Jacobus Janse van Rensburg "Nic" Koornhof is a retired South African politician who served in Parliament from 1987 to 1998 and later from 2009 to 2019, representing various political parties. He is also a former member of the Western Cape Executive Council.

Andries Stephanus Beyers is a South African politician who served in Parliament from 1992 to 1999. He was the national secretary of the far-right Conservative Party from 1987 to 1992 but he later represented the National Party.

Samuel Johannes de Beer 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.

Jacobus Albert Rabie was a South African politician who was Minister for Population Development under President F. W. de Klerk from 1993 to 1994. He served in the apartheid-era House of Representatives throughout its lifespan from 1984 to 1994, representing the Reiger Park constituency, and subsequently served one term in the post-apartheid National Assembly from 1994 to 1999.

Rodney Tyrone Rhoda is a retired South African politician from the Western Cape. Formerly a Labour Party representative in the apartheid-era House of Representatives, he represented the National Party (NP) and New National Party (NNP) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2004. In 2005, he was convicted of defrauding Parliament in the Travelgate scandal.

Daniel Pieter Antonie "Danie" Schutte is a South African politician and lawyer who was the last Minister of Home Affairs of the apartheid era from 1993 to 1994. He represented the National Party (NP) both in the apartheid-era House of Assembly and in the post-apartheid National Assembly.

Gert Benjamin Myburgh was a South African lawyer and politician from the Eastern Cape. He served as Deputy Minister of Justice from January 1995 until his death in March 1996. He had formerly served as Deputy Minister of Law and Order from 1992 to 1994 and was a long-serving representative of the National Party (NP) in Parliament.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Oudminister Piet Marais sterf in tuisdorp aan kanker". Rapport (in Afrikaans). 29 December 2001. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Running for change in S. Africa". Washington Post. 1 May 1987. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. ↑ South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994. International Republican Institute. 1994. Retrieved 13 April 2023– via Yumpu.
  4. ↑ "Marais, Peter Gabriel". Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. 28 June 1998. Archived from the original on 28 June 1998. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Birth of SA's highest law: The final countdown begins". The Mail & Guardian. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Education
1992–1994		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.