United Party

The United Party (UP) was a major political party in South Africa from 1934 until 1977. Formed by the fusion of the South African Party and National Party subsequent to their 1933 general election coalition, the UP governed South Africa from 1934 through 1948 and was the official opposition party from 1948 until its dissolution nearly three decades later.

Fusion

The formation of the United Party grew out of the political upheaval prompted by South Africa's gold standard crisis during the early 1930s. When Great Britain announced its abandonment of the gold standard in September 1931, National Party (NP) leader and Prime Minister J.B.M. Hertzog and Minister of Finance Nicolaas Havenga decided that South Africa would not go along. Hertzog and Havenga were roundly criticized for this decision, which had devastating effects on South Africa's already ailing economy. The result of a 1932 by-election in Germiston, a Transvaal constituency that had been considered safely Nationalist but suddenly fell into the hands of the South African Party (SAP), clearly signaled the extent of disillusionment with the NP government. This led Tielman Roos, an aging, founding member of the National Party, to come suddenly out of retirement and demand South Africa's abandonment of the gold standard. With 24 Nationalist politicians supporting him, Roos upped the ante by threatening to join forces with the SAP, oust the National Party, and save South Africa from economic ruin.

Finally, on December 28, 1932, Hertzog took South Africa off the gold standard, a move that would soon improve South Africa's financial situation substantially. By this point, however, the NP government was unlikely to rebound from the blow to its legitimacy, which led Hertzog to agree to SAP leader Jan Christiaan Smuts's proposal to form a unity coalition between their parties.