Barry Hertzog, as he was known, was born on 6 April 1866 and was a general in the South African War. He fought with distinction during the guerrilla phase of the war.
After the signing of the Peace Treaty of Vereeniging, he became a political opponent of both Louis Botha and Jan Smuts. Botha and Smuts wanted reconciliation between Boer and British – Hertzog wanted Afrikaner ‘independence’.
Hertzog was prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1924 to 1939, losing a Parliamentary Vote in 1939 due to his stance on British ‘alignment’ during WW2.
