Marthinus van Schalkwyk

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Marthinus Christoffel Johannes van Schalkwyk (born 10 November 1959) is a South African politician.

Marthinus Christoffel Johannes van Schalkwyk
Marthinus van Schalkwyk
Incumbent
Assumed office 
29 April 2004
Incumbent
Assumed office 
1990
In office
21 June 2002 – 28 April 2004
Preceded by Peter Marais
Succeeded by Ebrahim Rasool
Born November 10, 1959 (1959-11-10) (age 48)
Political party African National Congress

Van Schalkwyk matriculated from Pietersburg High School in 1977. Van Schalkwyk served in the SADF from 1978-1979. His political career began during the late apartheid years at the Rand Afrikaans University as chairman of the Student Representative Council (SRC), the Afrikaanse Studentebond (ASB), and later of the Ruiterwag, the youth wing of the Broederbond. In the 1980s, he was a founding member and chairman of "Jeugkrag" - Youth Power - an organisation purportedly opposed to the Afrikaner establishment, but which was secretly funded by military intelligence [1][2].

He is married to his wife Suzette and has one son and one daughter.

Formerly both Premier of the Western Cape and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Africa, he was the leader of the New National Party from its inception on 8 September 1997 until its dissolution on 9 April 2005. He was appointed minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in the South African cabinet as a reward for aligning his party with the ruling African National Congress (ANC), despite his party's poor performance in the 2004 General Election.

Informally, he is referred to by his detractors as kortbroek (lit. "short pants"), a name he earned because of his boyish appearance and lack of political experience when compared to his predecessor, F.W. de Klerk. A significant part of the white Afrikaner population views him as a weak politician who destroyed the old National Party in order to rescue his own political skin by marrying the NNP with its old opposition, the ruling ANC. He was however one of the few nationalist politicians who remained active in politics after the decline of th National Party (South Africa) and took a high profile like FW de Klerk did with the coming into being of the Rainbow Nation in 1994.

In August 2004 it was announced that Van Schalkwyk would become a member of the ANC, and that the NNP would be disbanded in 2005 or 2006 at the latest. This decision was finalized on 9 April 2005, when the party's federal committee overwhelmingly endorsed its regional committees' recommendation to disband the party as soon as municipal election results were finalised.

Speaking after the decision to dissolve the party, van Schalkwyk said, "What we do today is part of our contribution to finally ending the division of the South African soul." He went on to apologize for the way the National Party (the forerunner to the NNP) had "brought suffering through a system grounded in injustice."

"What we do today is liberating," he went on. "It empowers us to throw off the yoke of history and to accept a new and important burden - the shared responsibility for building a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it."

On 29 April 2004, following the overwhelming victory of the African National Congress in the national parliamentary elections, Van Schalkwyk was appointed by President Thabo Mbeki as Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism for South Africa - a position he has held since that time.

Initially greeted with dismay and scepticism by many environmental activist groupings, his tenure has been marked by a number of decisions and initiatives that have been increasingly welcomed by environmental and tourism sectors alike - amongst these the decision to uphold appeals against the development of the N2 National Toll Road through the unspoilt Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape Province, the promulgation and initial implementation of a new Air Quality Act, the creation of a new Environmental Protection Fleet to prevent illegal fishing, a complete ban on the use and production of asbestos, the adoption of a Black Economic Empowerment Scorecard and Charter for Tourism, and a significant focus by the South African government on addressing global climate change.

Preceded by
Peter Marais		 Premier of Western Cape Province
2002-2004		 Succeeded by
Ebrahim Rasool

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Premiers of Western Cape

Kriel • Morkel • Herandien (acting) • Marais • Meyer (acting) • Schalkwyk • Ramatlakane (acting) • Rasool
v • d • e
Ministers of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in South Africa
pre-Apartheid
?
Apartheid-era
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Post-apartheid
Moosa • van Schalkwyk
v • d • e
Ministers of Thabo Mbeki's Second Government
President
Deputy President
Jacob Zuma (2004-2005) • Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (2005=present)
Ministers
Lulama Xingwana (Agriculture and Land Affairs) • Pallo Jordan (Arts and Culture) • Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri (Communications) • Ngconde Balfour (Correctional Services) • Mosiuoa Lekota (Defence) • Naledi Pandor (Education) • Marthinus van Schalkwyk (Environmental Affairs and Tourism) • Trevor Manuel (Finance) • Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (Foreign Affairs) • Manto Tshabalala-Msimang (Health) • Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula (Home Affairs) • Lindiwe Sisulu (Housing) • Ronnie Kasrils (Intelligence Services) • Brigitte Mabandla (Justice and Constitutional Development) • Membathisi Mdladlana (Labour) • Patience Sonjica (Minerals and Energy) • Sydney Mufamadi (Provincial and Local Government) • Alex Erwin (Public Enterprises) • Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi (Public Service and Administration) • Thoko Didiza (Agriculture and Land Affairs) • Charles Nqakula (Safety and Security) • Mosibudi Mangena (Science and Technology) • Zola Skweyiya (Social Development) • Arnold Stofile (Sport and Recreation) • Essop Pahad (The Presidency) • Mandisi Mpahlwa (Trade and Industry) • Jeff Radebe (Transport) • Lindiwe Hendricks (Water Affairs and Forestry)