Connie Mulder facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cornelius Petrus Mulder
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| Minister of Information | |
| In office 1968–1977 |
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| Prime Minister | John Vorster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 June 1925 Warmbaths, Transvaal, South Africa |
| Died | 12 January 1988 (aged 62) Johannesburg, Transvaal Province, South Africa |
| Political party | Conservative National |
| Children | Pieter Mulder, Corné Mulder |
Cornelius Petrus Mulder (born June 5, 1925 – died January 12, 1988) was an important South African politician. He served as a cabinet minister and was a Member of Parliament for many years.
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Early Life
Cornelius Petrus Mulder was born on June 5, 1925. He was one of ten children, and his father was a school principal. He studied at university and earned a degree in 1945. He also received a teaching diploma.
He started his career teaching Afrikaans, German, and history in Randfontein. Later, he continued his studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. There, he earned his PhD. His special research project was about how the Bible influenced the character of the Afrikaans people.
Political Career
Becoming Mayor of Randfontein
Mulder became involved in local government in Randfontein. In 1951, he joined the city council. He was then chosen as the deputy mayor and led the council's finance committee.
In 1953, at just 28 years old, he was elected as the mayor of Randfontein. In 1955, he became the president of the Transvaal Municipal Association. He served a second term as mayor in 1957. For four years, he was also a member of the United Municipal Executive of South Africa. He became more and more involved with the National Party.
Serving as a Member of Parliament
In the 1958 general election, Mulder was elected to the country's main law-making body, the House of Assembly. He represented the Randfontein area for the National Party.
In 1968, Prime Minister John Vorster appointed him as the Minister of Information. This meant he was in charge of how the government shared information with the public. In 1978, he was also made the Minister of Bantu Administration (later called Minister of Plural Relations), while still being Minister of Information. After the Finance Minister passed away, many people thought Mulder would become the next Prime Minister.
Forming a New Political Party
After a big political event, Mulder left the National Party. He and his supporters then started a new group called the National Conservative Party. However, in the 1981 general election, none of their nine candidates won. Mulder himself lost his seat in Randfontein by a small number of votes. He had won that same seat easily in the 1977 general election.
Later, he helped create the Conservative Party. In the 1987 general election, at age 62, he was elected back into the House of Assembly.
Death and Legacy
Sadly, Cornelius Mulder was suffering from cancer. He passed away on January 12, 1988, before he could officially take his seat in Parliament.
His two sons, Pieter and Corné, followed in his footsteps. They became Conservative Party Members of Parliament in 1988. After the 2009 general election, both sons served in the National Assembly of South Africa for the Freedom Front Plus party. Pieter later stepped down as a Member of Parliament and party leader in 2016. Corné still serves in Parliament today.
See also
In Spanish: Connie Mulder para niños
