Éamon de Valera Irish independence. He was arrested, sentenced to death but released for a variety of reasons, including the public response to the British execution of Rising leaders. He returned to Ireland after being jailed in England and became one of the leading political figures of the War of Independence. After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, de Valera served as the political leader of Anti-Treaty Sinn Fein until 1926, when he, along with many supporters, left the party to set up Fianna Fáil, a new political party which abandoned the policy of abstentionism from Dáil Éireann. From there, de Valera would
South West Party South West Party The South West Party (in Afrikaans: "Suidwes Party", in German: "Südwestpartei") was a political party in South West Africa, today Namibia. Initially the party was known as Union Party ("Unie Party" in Afrikaans). The party was founded in Windhoek in September 1924 by F. van der Heever, A.P. Olivier, and Andries de Wet. It took the name SWP in 1926. In 1926, the SWP created a pact with the National Party of South West Africa, against the German League in South West Africa (, DBSW). The party contested four seats in the 1926 legislative elections, winning in