Historical Organization
National Party
National Party
Details
Organization Timeline
Afrikaans becomes an official language of the Union
📅 8 May 1925Parliament recognized Afrikaans alongside English. The measure strengthened Afrikaner nationalism within a state that excluded the Black majority from national political power.
The National Party wins the general election
📅 26 May 1948The National Party came to power on an apartheid platform despite receiving fewer votes overall than its opponents. The Black majority had no national vote.
The Group Areas Act becomes law
📅 7 July 1950The act authorized compulsory residential and business segregation and became a major legal instrument for mass forced removals from multiracial neighbourhoods.
The Population Registration Act becomes law
📅 7 July 1950Every resident was assigned a racial classification. These classifications determined residence, schooling, employment, political rights and everyday movement under apartheid.
The Bantu Authorities Act establishes segregated administrations
📅 27 June 1951The law created state-controlled tribal, regional and territorial authorities. It laid administrative foundations for the Bantustan system and excluded Africans from common citizenship.
The Public Safety Act expands emergency powers
📅 4 March 1953The government gained broad authority to declare states of emergency, detain people and rule by proclamation. The measure responded directly to mass resistance.
The Bantu Education Act becomes law
📅 5 October 1953The apartheid state took control of African schooling and designed education to prepare Black children for subordinate labour. Communities, teachers and the ANC opposed the system.
Hendrik Verwoerd becomes prime minister
📅 3 September 1958Verwoerd, previously the minister responsible for Bantu Education, became prime minister and intensified the apartheid programme of racial separation and Bantustans.
The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act is passed
📅 19 June 1959The act abolished limited African parliamentary representation and divided Africans into state-defined ethnic units. It advanced the Bantustan project while denying common South African citizenship.
The government defends police action after Sharpeville
📅 22 March 1960Prime Minister Verwoerd praised the police and denied that the violence reflected opposition to apartheid. Authorities also detained PAC leaders and prepared sedition charges.
The apartheid government declares a state of emergency
📅 30 March 1960The government imposed emergency rule across major urban areas and detained more than 2,000 people, using exceptional powers to suppress the expanding anti-pass movement.
The Unlawful Organisations Act comes into force
📅 7 April 1960The act gave the government power to declare organizations unlawful. It created the legal mechanism used immediately against the main African liberation movements.
Emergency regulations imposed after Sharpeville are lifted
📅 26 August 1960The government ended emergency rule after months of detention and repression. The ANC and PAC nevertheless remained banned and many activists faced restrictions.
South Africa announces withdrawal from the Commonwealth
📅 15 March 1961Facing criticism from Commonwealth leaders over apartheid, Verwoerd withdrew South Africa's application to remain after becoming a republic.
The General Law Amendment Act expands detention powers
📅 12 May 1961The law permitted twelve-day detention without bail and criminalized prohibited gatherings, strengthening the state's tools against political organizing.
The Republic is proclaimed amid liberation protests
📅 31 May 1961South Africa became a republic and left the Commonwealth. A nationwide stay-at-home challenged a constitutional change made without consent of the Black majority.
The Indemnity Act shields officials from accountability
📅 5 July 1961Applied retrospectively to 21 March 1960, the act protected the government and its agents from legal responsibility for violence and torture carried out in official duties.
Detention without trial is extended to 180 days
📅 25 June 1965The Criminal Procedure Act doubled the detention period and allowed renewal, deepening the state's capacity to isolate and interrogate political opponents.
District Six is declared a white group area
📅 11 February 1966The declaration prepared the forced removal of more than 50,000 residents from a diverse Cape Town community under the Group Areas Act.
P. W. Botha becomes prime minister
📅 28 September 1978Botha replaced John Vorster and developed a strategy combining limited constitutional reform with military and security repression.
White voters approve the tricameral constitution
📅 2 November 1983The referendum created separate parliamentary chambers for white, Coloured and Indian representatives while excluding the African majority.
The government declares a partial state of emergency
📅 20 July 1985Emergency rule in 36 districts expanded detention, curfew and censorship powers in response to sustained township resistance.
P. W. Botha delivers the Rubicon speech
📅 15 August 1985Instead of announcing expected reforms, Botha rejected fundamental change. The speech intensified political isolation and contributed to a financial crisis.
The 1985 state of emergency is lifted
📅 7 March 1986The government ended the partial emergency, but repression and resistance continued and a broader emergency followed only months later.
A nationwide state of emergency is imposed
📅 12 June 1986The government introduced extensive detention, censorship and security powers across the country before the tenth anniversary of the Soweto uprising.
The National Party wins the white general election
📅 6 May 1987The election excluded the African majority and occurred under emergency rule, while the Conservative Party grew on the white right.
A segregated general election meets mass protest
📅 6 September 1989While white, Coloured and Indian chambers were elected, the Black majority remained excluded and democratic organizations mobilized defiance.
F. W. de Klerk becomes state president
📅 20 September 1989De Klerk took office amid deep internal resistance, economic pressure and international isolation that made political change unavoidable.
De Klerk announces Mandela's unconditional release
📅 10 February 1990The president confirmed that Mandela would leave prison the following day without renouncing the liberation struggle.
White voters approve continued negotiations
📅 17 March 1992In a whites-only referendum, a large majority supported De Klerk's negotiation policy, weakening the white right's claim to block the transition.
The IFP agrees to participate in the election
📅 19 April 1994A last-minute agreement brought Inkatha onto the ballot, reducing the danger that KwaZulu-Natal would be excluded from the democratic vote.