The Afrikaner Party was a South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 from 1941 to 1951.

Origins

The roots of the party can be traced back September 1939, when South Africa declared war on Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 at the start of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 J.B.M. Hertzog and his followers did not agree with this move and broke away from the United Party

United Party (South Africa)

The United Party was South Africa's ruling political party between 1934 and 1948. It was formed by a merger of most of Prime Minister Barry Hertzog's National Party with the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts, plus the remnants of the Unionist Party...

 to form the Volksparty (People's Party).

The Volksparty later split - one faction joined the National Party

National Party (South Africa)

The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...

 to form the Herenigde Nasionale Party

Herenigde Nasionale Party

The Herenigde Nasionale Party was a political party in South Africa during the 1940s. It was the product of the reunion of Daniel François Malan's Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party and J.B.M. Hertzog's breakaway Afrikaner nationalist faction of the United Party in 1940.In 1934, J.B.M...

 (Re-united National Party) while the other faction became the Afrikaner Party under the leadership of N.C. Havenga.

Coalition

After the 1948 South African general election

South African general election, 1948

The parliamentary election in South Africa on 26 May 1948 represented a turning point in the country's history. The United Party, which had led the government since its foundation in 1933 and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Jan Smuts was ousted by the Reunited National Party , led by Daniel...

the Herenigde National Party and Afrikaner Party formed a coalition in order to achieve an absolute majority in parliament. The Afrikaner Party was very much the junior partner in this, however, and in 1951 the two parties amalgamated to become the National Party.