Gys Hofmeyr
Gysbert Reitz Hofmeyr Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George | |
|---|---|
| 1st Mandatory Administrator of South West Africa | |
| In office 1 October 1920 – 1 April 1926 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Governors‑General | |
| Preceded by | Sir Edmond Howard Lacam Gorges |
| Succeeded by | Albertus Johannes Werth |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gysbert Reitz Hofmeyr 12 February 1871 Riversdale, Cape Colony |
| Died | 12 March 1943 (aged 72) Lakeside, Cape, Union of South Africa |
| Spouse | Ydie Louis Dankwertz Nel |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Victoria College, Stellenbosch |
Gysbert Reitz Hofmeyr, CMG (1871–1942) was a South African civil servant and the first Administrator of South West Africa (now Namibia) under the League of Nations Mandate. As secretary for the Transvaal delegation to the National Convention in 1908–1909, Hofmeyr had a ring-side seat on the unification of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River colonies. The new Union of South Africa became a self-governing dominion of the British Empire in 1910. Hofmeyr continued close to power as clerk of the new Union government's House of Assembly from 1910 to 1920. He published numerous political writings calling for greater unity between the English and Dutch inhabitants of South Africa.
In 1920 Hofmeyr was appointed as the first Administrator of South West Africa under the League of Nations Mandate by Jan Smuts (then Prime Minister of South Africa). As Administrator Hofmeyr strongly encouraged white settlers from the Union and introduced numerous measures designed to ensure that the local Black and Coloured inhabitants would work for the white settlers. Historian John Wellington's view is that in doing so Hofmeyr failed to “promote to the utmost the material and moral well-being and social progress of the inhabitants of the territory” as required under the League of Nations Mandate.
Hofmeyr's actions during the Bondelswarts Rebellion in 1922, described by Ruth First as "the Sharpeville of the 1920s", were controversial, especially the use of warplanes, aerial bombs and strafing against lightly armed Blacks. He was criticized by the Permanent Mandates Commission report into the Bondelswarts affair. Although the report held that Hofmeyr had "acted wisely in taking prompt steps to uphold government authority", it found that the repression of the uprising was "carried out with excessive severity".
Hofmeyr stood for election to the Parliament of South Africa for the Riversdale constituency in 1929 but lost to a nationalist opponent who taunted him about his Bondelswarts misjudgements. Hofmeyr sued the opponent for libel and ultimately won the case, but the loss at the election effectively ended Hofmeyr's political career.