Political map of South Africa
South Africa: Twice a Member
South Africa’s involvement with the Commonwealth has a complicated and somewhat tarnished past. Like Canada, South Africa entered the Commonwealth as a Dominion in 1931. In October of 1960, South Africa reformed their government as a separate republic from the crown after an all-white referendum. When Prime Minister H. F. Verwoerd requested to stay in the Commonwealth he met strong resistance from other African members, Canada, and India due to the new republic’s apartheid policies. Failing to convince the members to allow South Africa to maintain these policies as a member, Verwoerd decided instead to pull the nation out of the Commonwealth. The country remained an ex-member until October 25th, 1993 when the Commonwealth extended an invitation to the nation after its successful movement to outlaw apartheid, and Nelson Mandela became the first South African president to work as a citizen of the Commonwealth.
Controversial Statesman
Jan Smuts was an important founding father in both the Commonwealth and South Africa. Having lost in the fighting against the British Empire during the Boer Wars, he came to the realization that the South African colony's future lied in cooperating with the empire as an autonomous state. His work eventually led to the empire adopting South Africa as a Dominion, and in 1931 he joined Canadian statesmen in convincing the empire to found the Commonwealth. However, citizenship within South Africa was not all inclusive. Being avidly against desegregation and civil rights for non-white South Africans, Smuts worked much of his life to ensure that those descended from Dutch Colonists had more prominence in the new state. It was his racist policies that led to the eventual withdrawal from the Commonwealth. Though his work led to the creation of a multi-cultural organization and he may have later recanted his views on segregation, his work towards disenfranchising black South Africans led to the unfortunate apartheid policies of white Afrikaners.
General Jan Smuts - South African Statesman and Nationalist
A New Founding Father
While Smuts was a founding father to South Africa, Nelson Mandela helped remake the nation into one that represented all South Africans. Working tirelessly and suffering imprisonment by the South African government, Mandela's, and many others', work was rewarded in 1993 when the apartheid system was finally abolished. He had worked with the Commonwealth governments in their joint quest to end apartheid in South Africa and became a notable person during the end of the struggle through bi-annual meetings between Commonwealth national leaders. It is, little surprise, perhaps, that became the first South African leader in over thirty years to walk into the Commonwealth's headquarters as a member. In his time as a member, President Mandela worked with the Commonwealth to further promote diversity and equality, both in his home nation and in other member nations, due to his belief that the organization made the world safe for diversity.
President Nelson Mandela - First Black African President of South Africa
Inauguration Speech of President Nelson Mandela
South Africa and the Commonwealth
Unlike Canada or the UK, South Africa does not have any laws in which Commonwealth citizens have special privileges within the nation. In order to gain citizenship, which comes with the right to vote in South African and provincial elections, a person coming in from other Commonwealth territories must apply for residency visas or prove they are descended from a South African citizen. However, South Africans still maintain the right to assistance from British consulates and immigration into the UK. South Africa as a Commonwealth state, however, has received many benefits from the organization. In addition to receiving aide from the secretariat in combating corruption, South Africa has received special trade dispensations, educational grants for both government workers and citizens, and support for modernizing their country's elections. In return, South Africa has extended university scholarships to members in other member's nations and pledged to assist the Commonwealth in combating climate change and ocean pollution.