Dawie de Villiers

Dawie de Villiers

Birth name	Dawid Jacobus de Villiers
Date of birth	(1940-07-10) 10 July 1940
Place of birth	Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
School	Hoërskool Bellville, Bellville, Western Cape
University	Stellenbosch University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrumhalf Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1961–1966 Western Province () 1967–1970 Boland () 1970 Transvaal () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1962–1970 South Africa 25 (9)
Member of Parliament
In office 1972–1977
Constituency	Johannesburg West
South African Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office 1979–1980
Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism
In office 1980–1986
Preceded by	Andries Treurnicht
Succeeded by	Kent Durr
Constituency	Piketberg
Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs
In office 1989–1991
Preceded by	Daniel Steyn
Succeeded by	George Bartlett
Constituency	Piketberg
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
In office 1992–1996
Succeeded by	Pallo Jordan

David Jacobus de Villiers, born on 10 July 1940 in Burgersdorp, Cape Province, was an ordained Minister in the Dutch Reformed Church; a South African Government minister and a former Springbok rugby captain.

Biography

His father Coenie was a railway clerk and organizer of the National Party and Member of Parliament for the Vasco constituency from 1953 to 1961. The family moved to Caledon where he began his schooling. However, they moved again a year later to Bellville, where he matriculated in 1959 at the Hoërskool Bellville.

In 1960 he studied at the University of Stellenbosch where he obtained a degree in Theology and gained honors in Philosophy. During 1962 to 1963 he was President of the Student Council.

In 1963-1964 he was a part-time lecturer in philosophy at the University of the Western Cape and was awarded the Abe Bailey and Markotter scholarships. He was the Pastor of the Wellington congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church from 1967 to 1969. After that, he became a lecturer at the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU). In 1972 he completed his MA in philosophy and received a scholarship to study abroad.

Springbok rugby

De Villiers also excelled in rugby (scrumhalf position) and became involved in all levels of the sport, including representing South Africa in 25 test matches, His first international test match was in 1962 against the British Lions, aged 22. In 1970 he captained the Springboks against New Zealand.

Test history

No.	Opponents	Results (SA 1st)	Position	Tries	Dates	Venue
1.	British Lions	3–0	Scrumhalf		21 Jul 1962	Kings Park, Durban
2.	British Lions	8–3	Scrumhalf		04 Aug 1962	Newlands, Cape Town
3.	Ireland	6–9	Scrumhalf		10 Apr 1965	Lansdowne Road, Dublin
4.	New Zealand	3–6	Scrumhalf (c)		31 Jul 1965	Athletic Park, Wellington
5.	New Zealand	19–16	Scrumhalf (c)		4 Sep 1965	Lancaster Park, Christchurch
6.	New Zealand	3–20	Scrumhalf (c)		18 Sep 1965	Eden Park, Auckland
7.	France	26–3	Scrumhalf (c)		15 Jul 1967	Kings Park, Durban
8.	France	16–3	Scrumhalf (c)		22 Jul 1967	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
9.	France	14–19	Scrumhalf (c)		29 Jul 1967	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
10.	France	6–6	Scrumhalf (c)		12 Aug 1967	Newlands, Cape Town
11.	British Lions	25–20	Scrumhalf (c)	1	8 Jun 1968	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
12.	British Lions	6–6	Scrumhalf (c)		22 Jun 1968	Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth
13.	British Lions	11–6	Scrumhalf (c)		13 Jul 1968	Newlands, Cape Town
14.	British Lions	19–6	Scrumhalf (c)		27 Jul 1968	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
15.	France	12–9	Scrumhalf (c)		9 Nov 1968	Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
16.	France	16–11	Scrumhalf (c)	1	16 Nov 1968	Stade Olympique, Colombes
17.	Australia	30–11	Scrumhalf (c)		2 Aug 1969	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
18.	Australia	19–8	Scrumhalf (c)		20 Sep 1969	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
19.	England	8–11	Scrumhalf (c)		20 Dec 1969	Twickenham, London
20.	Ireland	8–8	Scrumhalf (c)		10 Jan 1970	Lansdowne Road, Dublin
21.	Wales	6–6	Scrumhalf (c)		24 Jan 1970	National Stadium, Cardiff
22.	New Zealand	17–6	Scrumhalf (c)	1	25 Jul 1970	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
23.	New Zealand	8–9	Scrumhalf (c)		8 Aug 1970	Newlands, Cape Town
24.	New Zealand	14–3	Scrumhalf (c)		29 Aug 1970	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
25.	New Zealand	20–17	Scrumhalf (c)		12 Sep 1970	Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Politics

While he was lecturing at RAU, the then rector, Gerrit Viljoen, persuaded him at this time to become active in politics. Against his father's wishes, De Villiers entered politics and stood for election. He was elected to the House of Assembly as MP for Johannesburg West and was re-elected in the elections of 1974 and 1977.

In April 1979, De Villiers was appointed South African Ambassador in London. On his return in October 1980 he became Minister of Trade and Industry. The following year he contested the Gardens constituency in Cape Town, but lost to Ken Andrews of the Progressive Federal Party. He was subsequently elected MP for Piketberg, Cape Province.

While he was the Minister of Trade and Industry, the Liquor Act was passed which desegregated South African bars at the owners’ discretion and the South African Tourist Board was established. In 1983 he called a commission to investigate monopolies, and he stimulated small business in rural and ‘homeland’ areas. In 1989 he became Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs, and of Public Enterprises as well as Cape NP leader.

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 382

References

Attribution

• This article contains text from the Afrikaans Wikipedia article - af:Dawie de Villiers