Frans Erasmus
| François Christiaan Erasmus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 1959 – August 1961 | |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Charles Robberts Swart |
| Succeeded by | B. J. Vorster |
| Constituency | Saldhana |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 4 June 1948 – 12 December 1959 | |
| Prime Minister | Hendrik Verwoerd |
| Preceded by | Jan Smuts |
| Succeeded by | Jacobus Johannes Fouché |
| Constituency | Saldhana |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1896 |
| Died | 1967 |
| Nationality | South African |
Frans C. Erasmus (1896 - 1967) was a South African National Party politician and Minister of Defence from June 1948 to 1959 as well as Minister of justice from 1959 - August 1961.
Career
In 1927 he was appointed Deputy Attorney General of South West Africa. Afterwards he entered politics and was elected to Parliament in 1933.[1] He joined D F Malan's cabinet as the Minister of Defence in 1948.[2] He was widely considered to be incompetent[3] and was very unpopular[3] because of his broad changes to the military to remove what he called the "British Influence".[3] This included the removal of items such as the Red Tabs (Rooi Luise) and the retrenchment of firing of numerous english speaking officers and the appointment of Afrikaner ones in their place.
After his term as Minister of Justice he was appointed Ambassador to Italy.[1]
A Strike Craft SAS Frans Erasmus of the South African Navy was named after him.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Boulter, Roger (2011). A biography of F.C. Erasmus, South African defence minister, 1948-1959. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 9780773425866.
- ↑ C.J. Nöthling, E.M. Meyers (1982). "Leaders through the years (1912-1982)". Scientaria Militaria 12 (2): 92.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Warwick, Dr Rodney (5 December 2014). "Let's not forget SA's role in WW2". politicsweb.co.za. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
The NP government from 1948 cautiously distanced itself from the OB, however its main concern with the UDF was to Afrikanerize it as thoroughly and quickly as practical. This task was taken on by the unpopular and incompetent defence minister Frans Erasmus; supported by lackeys like the war "refusenik" Afrikaner nationalist Rudolf Hiemstra, who ultimately rose to the SADF Commandant-General position during 1965-73.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jan Smuts |
Minister of Defence (South Africa) 1948–1959 |
Succeeded by Jacobus Johannes Fouché |
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