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).
Minister for the Cabinet Office and as First Secretary of State, he was considered a de facto Deputy Prime Minister. Upon the appointment of David Lidington in 2018, Lidington retained the responsibilities Green had held, but the title of First Secretary of State remained vacant (as did the office of Deputy Prime Minister, vacant since 2015). The office in its present form therefore appears to have the responsibilities of a de facto Deputy Prime Minister, without either of the associated titles usually granted to individuals in the British Government (First Secretary of State or Deputy Prime Minister). The current Minister is David Lidington, who was