T.E. Donges
Encyclopedia
State President of South Africa
State President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state...
but died before he could take office, aged 69.
Dr Dönges was a senior member of 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...
which ruled South Africa from 1948 to 1994. As Minister of the Interior, from 1948 to 1961, he was one of the so-called "architects" of apartheid, introducing race-based population registration, and removing Coloured
Coloured
In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...
voters from the common voters' roll as a prelude to disenfranchising them altogether, during his tenure as Minister of the Interior, Dönges believed that Apartheid would only continue for the next two generations. He was Minister of Finance from 1958 to 1967. After the assassination of Prime Minister Verwoerd Dönges became acting Prime Minister before a 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...
congress named B. J. Vorster to succeed to the Premiership.
Dönges was elected State President to succeed C.R. Swart
Charles Robberts Swart
Charles Robberts Swart served as the last Governor-General of Union of South Africa from 1960 to 1961 and the first State President of the Republic of South Africa from 1961 to 1967.-Early life:...
on his retirement on 1 June 1967, but suffered a stroke and fell into a coma before he could take office. He died in 1968 without regaining consciousness. His deputy Jozua Naudé acted for him until 6 December 1967 when he officially replaced Dönges. He received the posthumous honours granted to a former state president, i.e. a state funeral, and his effigy on the following year's coins.