UNITED PARTY Central Head Office 1905-1988

Abstract

The Central Head Office files consist of 17,5 linear metres of records (large format volumes and 173 boxes). The Central Head Office is part of the larger United Party Archives which are available to national as well as international researchers. According to the Party constitution, the Central Head Committee / Office consisted of the Leader of the Party, the Deputy Leader of the Party, Ministers, deputy Ministers and ex–ministers. The Archives are of particular value in that the records are the official documents of a South African political party which ruled for 38 years. The United Party and its successor the New Republic Party was the official opposition party from 1948 until 1987.

The Central Congress elected the Chairman and Party Leader, dealt with agendas and drafted the Party constitution. The Central Committee edited the discussion points at the Central Congress which Provincial Head Committees had submitted in advance. All decisions taken by the Central Congress were binding on all structures and party members. The Central Head Office budgeted for the financial requirements of the Party, drafted action programmes, policy documents and maintained party discipline. The Central Head Office also collected information files on important issues and events such as Native and Coloured franchise, parliamentary and provincial elections, labour matters, delimitation commissions, defence and republicanism. These files contain reports, pamphlets and press cuttings. Louis Esselen’s UP correspondence files give the researcher some insight into the important role which the party secretary played in government during the thirties and forties. Other interesting files are Wallachs Printing and Publishing Company, the Smuts Government’s intelligence files (1940-1944), Second World War memoranda on Black, Coloured, Indian and Jewish soldiers, the Broederbond, the relationship with Germany and German companies such as Siemens, Bayer-Pharma and Adlerwerke, the Springbok Legion, Ossewabrandwag, South West Africa / Namibia, War Veterans Torch Commando, Communism and party leadership issues. The Central Head Office files also include information on the leaders e.g. General Louis Botha, General Jan Smuts, General Hertzog, JGN Strauss, Sir De Villiers Graaff , Vause Raw and RR Cadman.