Vorster, Balthazar Johannes, << FAWR stuhr, BAHL ta sahr yoh HAHN uhs >> (1915-1983), was prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978. Before becoming prime minister, Vorster served as minister of justice. In this position, he vigorously enforced apartheid, the nation’s racial segregation policy. Police were given broad powers to crush opposition to apartheid. As prime minister, Vorster relaxed some apartheid practices but still maintained the overall policy. He enforced territorial segregation, declaring several Black African areas to be self-governing. Police control remained strict. In 1976, violent riots erupted in response to his government’s policies.
Vorster resigned as prime minister in 1978. He was then appointed to the ceremonial post of state president. But he resigned in 1979 after a government commission revealed his involvement in a financial scandal.
Vorster was born on Dec. 13, 1915, in Jamestown, in what is now Eastern Cape province. From 1942 to 1944, during World War II, he was imprisoned for his activities in connection with a pro-Nazi political movement. In 1953, he was elected to Parliament as a member of the National Party. He became minister of justice in 1961. Vorster died on Sept. 10, 1983.
