1938 South African general election 1938 South African general election The 1938 South African general election was held, on 18 May 1938, for the 150 seats in the House of Assembly of the Union of South Africa. The United Party won an absolute majority. The National Party (led by the Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog) and the South African Party (whose leader was the Deputy Prime Minister Jan Smuts) were in coalition at the time of the South African general election, 1933. After the election the two coalition parties fused, to become the United South African National Party (commonly known as the United Party).
Prime Minister of South Africa Prime Minister of South Africa The Prime Minister of South Africa ( was the head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984. The position of Prime Minister was established in 1910, when the Union of South Africa was formed. He was appointed by the head of state—the Governor-General until 1961 and the State President after South Africa became a republic in 1961. In practice, he was the leader of the majority party or coalition in the House of Assembly. The first Prime Minister was Louis Botha, a former Boer general and war hero during the Second Boer War.