| Post: | Prime Minister |
| Body: | South Africa |
| Insignia: | Coat of Arms of South Africa (1932-2000).svg |
| Insigniasize: | 100px |
| Insigniacaption: | Coat of Arms of South Africa |
| Termlength: | Whilst commanding the confidence of the House of Assembly |
| First: | Louis Botha |
| Formation: | 31 May 1910 |
| Last: | Pieter Willem Botha |
| Abolished: | 14 September 1984 |
| Succession: | Executive State President of South Africa |
The prime minister of South Africa (Afrikaans: Eerste Minister van Suid-Afrika) 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. With few exceptions, the governor-general/state president was bound by convention to act on the prime minister's advice. Thus, the prime minister was the country's leading political figure and de facto chief executive, with powers similar to those of his British counterpart.
The first prime minister was Louis Botha, a former Boer general and war hero during the Second Boer War.
The position of Prime Minister was abolished in 1984, when the State President was given executive powers after a new constitution was adopted – effectively merging the role of Prime Minister and State President. The last Prime Minister of South Africa, P. W. Botha, became the first executive State President after the constitutional reform in 1984 after Marais Viljoen's retirement.
In post-apartheid South Africa, the Inkatha Freedom Party has called for a return to a Westminster-style split executive with a Prime Minister as head of government, which is part of its overarching goal of avoiding a single-party South African state.[1]
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Elected | Political party | Government | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 1 | Louis Botha | 31 May 1910 | 27 August 1919 | 1910 1915 | South African Party | L. Botha I–II | ||
| 2 | Jan Christiaan Smuts | 3 September 1919 | 30 June 1924 | — 1920 1921 | South African Party | Smuts I–II | ||
| James Barry Munnik Hertzog | 30 June 1924 | 5 September 1939 | 1924 1929 1933 1938 | National Party United Party | Hertzog I–II–III–IV | |||
| 3 | ||||||||
| Jan Christiaan Smuts | 5 September 1939 | 4 June 1948 | — 1943 | United Party | Smuts III | |||
| 4 | Daniël François Malan | 4 June 1948 | 30 November 1954 | 1948 1953 | National Party | Malan I–II | ||
| 5 | Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom | 30 November 1954 | 24 August 1958 | — 1958 | National Party | Strydom | ||
| 6 | Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd | 2 September 1958 | 6 September 1966 | — 1961 1966 | National Party | Verwoerd I–II | ||
| 7 | Balthazar Johannes Vorster | 13 September 1966 | 2 October 1978 | — 1970 1974 1977 | National Party | Vorster I–II–III | ||
| 8 | Pieter Willem Botha | 9 October 1978 | 14 September 1984 | — 1981 () 1984 | National Party | P. W. Botha | ||