Rowan Cronjé
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The Reverend Rowan Cronjé MP |
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|---|---|
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| Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bophuthatswana | |
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In office 1986 – 27 April 1994 |
|
| President | Lucas Mangope |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Minister of Defence of Bophuthatswana | |
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In office 1986 – 27 April 1994 |
|
| President | Lucas Mangope |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Minister of Aviation of Bophuthatswana | |
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In office 1986 – 27 April 1994 |
|
| President | Lucas Mangope |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Deputy Minister of Lands, Natural Resources, and Rural Development of Zimbabwe Rhodesia | |
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In office 1 June 1979 – 12 December 1979 |
|
| Prime Minister | Abel Muzorewa |
| Minister | George Bodzo Nyandoro |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of Parliament | |
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In office 1979–1985 |
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| Succeeded by | Antonius Frans Berkhout |
| Constituency | Central |
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In office 1970–1979 |
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| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Charter |
| 3rd Minister of Education of Rhodesia | |
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In office 1978 – 1 June 1979 |
|
| Prime Minister | Ian Smith |
| Preceded by | Denis Walker |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| 1st Minister of Manpower, Industrial Relations, and Social Affairs of Rhodesia | |
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In office 1977 – 1 June 1979 |
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| Prime Minister | Ian Smith |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| 2nd Minister of Labour and Social Welfare of Rhodesia | |
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In office 1966 – 1 June 1979 |
|
| Prime Minister | Ian Smith |
| Preceded by | Ian McLean |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| 2nd Minister of Health of Rhodesia | |
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In office 1966 – 1 June 1979 |
|
| Prime Minister | Ian Smith |
| Preceded by | Ian McLean |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 September 1937 South Africa |
| Died | 11 March 2014 (aged 76) Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Political party |
Rhodesian Front (before 1981) Freedom Alliance (after 1981) |
| Occupation | Politician; minister |
| Religion | Dutch Reformed Church in Rhodesia |
Rowan Cronjé (22 September 1937 – 8 March 2014) was a Rhodesian and Zimbabwean politician and cabinet member during the tenure of Prime Minister Ian Smith. Later, he emigrated to South Africa and served in the government of Bophuthatswana.
From 1966 to 1979, nearly the entirety of Rhodesia's independent history, he served as Minister of Health and Minister of Labour and Social Welfare. From 1977 to 1979, he held the newly created office of Minister of Manpower and Social Affairs, and from 1978, was the joint Minister of Education. He was a Member of Parliament from 1970 to 1985, serving in the parliaments of both Rhodesia and Zimbabwe. He was briefly Deputy Minister of Lands, Natural Resources, and Rural Development of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979. In the 1980s, Cronjé relocated to South Africa, serving as Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Aviation in Bophuthatswana in the early 1990s.
Cronjé was born in South Africa to parents of Afrikaner descent, before emigrating to Southern Rhodesia, which was then governed as a British colony.
In 1966, less than a year after Rhodesia declared independence, Cronjé was appointed Minister of Health and Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, succeeding Ian McLean in both offices. He served in these positions until Rhodesia was dissolved and replaced by Zimbabwe in 1979. As labour minister, he oversaw a period in which Rhodesia was experiencing a shortage of workers on its farms. In 1975, he cited 36,000 vacancies for farm jobs, saying, "There is no unemployment in Rhodesia. The fact is we have a labor shortage." He also dismissed sanctions or the Rhodesian Bush War as a threat to the Rhodesian economy, insisting as late as 1978 that population growth was the greater problem.
In 1970, Cronjé ran for the Rhodesian Parliament for the Charter constituency. Running unopposed, he was elected with 1,715 votes. He ran for reelection in 1974 against Neil Diarmid Campbell Housman Herbert Wilson, winning with 1,147 votes, or 92%. He ran for a third term in 1977 against Independent candidate Leonard George Idensohn, winning with 1,023 votes, or 90%. During his time in Parliament, Cronjé was leader of the moderate faction of the Rhodesian Front party.
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