Louis Botha ( , ; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa, the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war veteran during the Second Boer War, Botha eventually fought to have South Africa become a British Dominion.

Zulu conflict

Louis Botha led "Dinuzulu's Volunteers", a group of Boers that had supported Dinuzulu against Zibhebhu in 1884.

Politician

Botha later became a member of the parliament of Transvaal in 1897, representing the district of Vryheid.

Second Boer War

thumb|left|Botha during the Boer War

Early battles

In 1899, Louis Botha fought in the Second Boer War, initially joining the Krugersdorp Commando, However, more recent research indicates that Field cornet Sarel Oosthuizen captured Churchill.

After the grant of self-government to the Transvaal on 6 December 1906 and the success of his Het Volk Party at the first elections in February 1907, Botha was called upon by Lord Selborne to form a government as Prime Minister on 4 March 1907, and in the spring of the same year he took part in the conference of colonial premiers held in London.

Later career

After the First World War started, he sent troops to take German South-West Africa, a move unpopular among Boers, which provoked the Boer Revolt.

Praise for the British

At Versailles on 1 June 1919, 17 years after the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging, General Botha, now a member of the British Empire Delegation, put his hand on Lord Milner's shoulder, and said:

At the end of the War he briefly led a British Military Mission to Poland during the Polish–Soviet War. He argued that the terms of the Versailles Treaty were too harsh on the Central Powers, but signed the treaty. Botha was unwell for most of 1919. He was plagued by fatigue and ill health that arose from his robust waistline.

Marriage and children

Botha married Annie Emmett at the Dutch Reformed Church in Vryheid on 13 December 1886. Annie Botha later converted from Anglicanism to Dutch Reformed Protestantism.were renamed to Louis Botha Avenue.

Sculptor Anton van Wouw created a statue of Botha in Durban unveiled in 1921.

Sculptor Coert Steynberg was commissioned to create the equestrian statue of Botha in front of the Union Buildings in Pretoria. It was unveiled in 1946.

The General Botha Regiment of the South African Army is named after Botha.

References

</references>

Sources

Further reading

Biographical

Historical

  • (insights of Botha)
  • (comprehensive commentaries on Smuts and Botha, or as William's titled them in the last chapter of this book par nobile fratrum

Fiction

  • (a heroic Boer character in this Australian/Boer War novel)
  • Anne Samson: Botha, Louis, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-