Charles Robberts Swart

Charles Robberts Swart ( born December 5, 1894 in Winburg, Orange Free State, † 16 July 1982 Bloemfontein ) was a South African politician.

Charles Robberts Swart was imprisoned during the Boer War in 1900 with his mother for several years in a British concentration camp. After his release, he studied law and philosophy in Bloemfontein. After further years of study in the U.S., he returned to South Africa. In 1919 he became a member of the National Party. In addition to his political work, he was active in the following years as a journalist and held legal presentations.

In 1948, he became Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Daniel François Malan. He remained in this position with the following government. In 1955 he became Deputy Prime Minister. Swart was a representative of apartheid and adopted numerous laws and regulations that restrict severely the lives of blacks. In 1959 he was appointed governor-general of the Union of South Africa. In 1960, the Union of South Africa voted to abolish the monarchy, as a result saw the founding of the Republic of South Africa in 1961 with a referendum. Swart was chosen on 31 May 1961 the first President of the Republic of South Africa. On 31 May 1967 he resigned for health reasons.