Wilhelm le Roux explained

Party:Democratic Alliance (since March 2003)
Office1:Member of the National Assembly
Termstart1:2001
Termend1:April 2004
Citizenship:South Africa
Birth Date:21 July 1939
Birth Name:Jacobus Wilhelmus le Roux
Office:Delegate to the National Council of Provinces
Termstart:April 2004
Termend:May 2009
Constituency Am:Eastern Cape
Termstart2:May 1994
Termend2:June 1999
Otherparty:New National Party
National Party

Jacobus Wilhelmus le Roux (born 21 July 1939) is a retired South African politician from the Eastern Cape. He served in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1999 and from 2001 to 2004, and he later served a term in the National Council of Provinces from 2004 to 2009.

Formerly a representative of the National Party (NP) in the apartheid-era House of Assembly, le Roux was the provincial leader of the New National Party (NNP) in the Eastern Cape until March 2003, when he crossed the floor to the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Legislative career

Born on 21 July 1939,[1] le Roux represented the Uitenhage constituency in the all-white House of Assembly before 1994.[2] In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, he was elected to represent the NP (soon restyled as the NNP) in the new multi-racial National Assembly.[3]

He stood for re-election in the next general election in 1999 but narrowly missed re-election: though he was ranked third on the NNP's party list for the Eastern Cape,[4] the party won only two seats in the constituency. However, he returned to the National Assembly in 2001, filling a casual vacancy.[5] By 2002, he was rumoured to be considering crossing the floor to another opposition party,[6] and, indeed, he announced his defection to the DA during the March 2003 floor-crossing window. At the time of his defection, he was provincial leader of the NNP's Eastern Cape branch.[7]

After serving the rest of the legislative term under the DA banner, le Roux stood for the DA in the 2004 general election and was elected as the party's sole representative in the Eastern Cape caucus of the National Council of Provinces.[8] [9] He was a member of the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs.[10]

Notes and References

  1. 10 April 2003 . General Notice: Notice 1259 of 2003 – Publication of Names of Members of the National Assembly . . Pretoria, South Africa . . 454 . 24743 . 17 May 2023.
  2. Web site: Pressly . Donwald . 24 March 2003 . DA set to reverse losses to NNP . 2023-05-24 . News24 . en-US.
  3. Book: South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994 . . 1994 . 13 April 2023 . Yumpu.
  4. Web site: 26 May 1999 . General Notice: Electoral Commission Notice 1113 of 1999 – Final List of Candidates . 9 May 2023 . . . 242 . Pretoria, South Africa.
  5. Web site: 2001-11-30 . Nats jostle for cabinet posts . 2023-05-24 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
  6. Web site: 2002-06-20 . NNP vulnerable to musical chairs in Parliament . 2023-05-24 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
  7. News: 25 March 2003 . NNP chief 'liberates' himself to join UDM . IOL . 24 May 2023.
  8. Web site: 2003-03-25 . ANC snatches control of Western Cape . 2023-05-24 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
  9. Web site: 11 November 2008 . List of Members of the National Council of Provinces . 2023-05-17 . Parliament of South Africa.
  10. Web site: 2008-11-10 . Scorpions Bills resume progress through Parliament . 2023-05-24 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.