Kobus Gous Explained

Party:New National Party
National Party
Office1:Member of the National Assembly
Citizenship:South Africa
Birth Date:24 March 1953
Birth Name:Sarel Jacobus Gous
Constituency1:Gauteng
Term1:until April 2004

Sarel Jacobus "Kobus" Gous (born 24 March 1953)[1] is a retired South African politician who represented the National Party (NP) and New National Party (NNP) in the National Assembly until 2004. He joined during the first democratic Parliament and represented the Gauteng caucus. He was also the NNP's spokesman on health.

Legislative career

Gous was not initially elected to a seat in South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994,[2] but he was sworn in during the term to fill a casual vacancy in an NP seat.[3] He was narrowly re-elected in 1999, representing the recently renamed NNP in the Gauteng caucus.

In 2000, the NNP joined the multi-party Democratic Alliance (DA), and DA leader Tony Leon appointed Gous to his shadow cabinet as one of the alliance's spokespersons on health, with a focus on HIV/AIDS.[4] The NNP's participation in the alliance was short-lived and, after its departure, Gous served as health spokesperson for the NNP alone.[5] [6] Although the Mail & Guardian reported that he was courted by several rival parties, including the DA, he continued to represent the NNP until after the 2004 general election, when he left Parliament.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 26 May 1999 . General Notice: Electoral Commission Notice 1113 of 1999 – Final List of Candidates . 9 May 2023 . . . 242 . Pretoria, South Africa.
  2. Book: South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994 . . 1994 . 13 April 2023 . Yumpu.
  3. Web site: 1998-06-03 . Members of the National Assembly . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/19980628034746/http://www.parliament.gov.za/mps/mps.html . 1998-06-28 . 2023-04-12 . Parliament of South Africa.
  4. Web site: 23 August 2000 . DA appoints joint parly spokespersons . 2023-05-09 . News24 . en-US.
  5. Web site: 2002-06-20 . NNP vulnerable to musical chairs in Parliament . 2023-05-14 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
  6. Web site: 2004-02-05 . Widespread support for doctors’ march . 2023-05-14 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.