Dawie de Villiers

David Jacobus de Villiers (10 July 1940 – 23 April 2022) was an ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church; a South African Government minister and a Springbok rugby captain.

Dawie de Villiers

Birth name	Dawid Jacobus de Villiers
Date of birth	(1940-07-10)10 July 1940
Place of birth	Burgersdorp, Cape Province, South Africa
Date of death	23 April 2022(2022-04-23) (aged 81)
Place of death	Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
School	Hoërskool Bellville, Bellville, Western Cape
University	Stellenbosch University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrumhalf Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1961–1966 Western Province () 1967–1970 Boland () 1970 Transvaal () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1962–1970 South Africa 25 (9)
Member of Parliament
In office 1972–1977
Constituency	Johannesburg West
South African Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office 1979–1980
Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism
In office 1980–1986
Preceded by	Andries Treurnicht
Succeeded by	Kent Durr
Constituency	Piketberg
Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs
In office 1989–1991
Preceded by	Daniel Steyn
Succeeded by	George Bartlett
Constituency	Piketberg
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
In office 1992–1996
Succeeded by	Pallo Jordan

Biography

His father Coenie was a railway clerk and organizer of the National Party and Member of Parliament for the Vasco constituency from 1953 to 1961. The family moved to Caledon where he began his schooling. However, they moved again a year later to Bellville, where he matriculated in 1959 at the Hoërskool Bellville.

In 1960 he studied at the University of Stellenbosch where he obtained a degree in Theology and gained honours in Philosophy. During 1962 to 1963, he was President of the Student Council.

In 1963–1964, he was a part-time lecturer in philosophy at the University of the Western Cape and was awarded the Abe Bailey and Markotter scholarships. He was the Pastor of the Wellington congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church from 1967 to 1969. After that, he became a lecturer at the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU). In 1972 he completed his MA in philosophy and received a scholarship to study abroad.

He was married to Suzaan Mangold. They had three daughters and a son.

Springbok rugby

De Villiers also excelled in rugby (scrumhalf position) and became involved in all levels of the sport, including representing South Africa in 25 test matches, His first international test match was in 1962 against the British Lions, aged 22. In 1970 he captained the Springboks against New Zealand.

Test history

No.	Opponents	Results (SA 1st)	Position	Tries	Dates	Venue
1.	British Lions	3–0	Scrumhalf		21 July 1962	Kings Park, Durban
2.	British Lions	8–3	Scrumhalf		4 Aug 1962	Newlands, Cape Town
3.	Ireland	6–9	Scrumhalf		10 April 1965	Lansdowne Road, Dublin
4.	New Zealand	3–6	Scrumhalf (c)		31 July 1965	Athletic Park, Wellington
5.	New Zealand	19–16	Scrumhalf (c)		4 September 1965	Lancaster Park, Christchurch
6.	New Zealand	3–20	Scrumhalf (c)		18 September 1965	Eden Park, Auckland
7.	France	26–3	Scrumhalf (c)		15 July 1967	Kings Park, Durban
8.	France	16–3	Scrumhalf (c)		22 July 1967	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
9.	France	14–19	Scrumhalf (c)		29 July 1967	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
10.	France	6–6	Scrumhalf (c)		12 August 1967	Newlands, Cape Town
11.	British Lions	25–20	Scrumhalf (c)	1	8 June 1968	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
12.	British Lions	6–6	Scrumhalf (c)		22 June 1968	Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth
13.	British Lions	11–6	Scrumhalf (c)		13 July 1968	Newlands, Cape Town
14.	British Lions	19–6	Scrumhalf (c)		27 July 1968	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
15.	France	12–9	Scrumhalf (c)		9 November 1968	Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
16.	France	16–11	Scrumhalf (c)	1	16 November 1968	Stade Olympique, Colombes
17.	Australia	30–11	Scrumhalf (c)		2 August 1969	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
18.	Australia	19–8	Scrumhalf (c)		20 September 1969	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
19.	England	8–11	Scrumhalf (c)		20 December 1969	Twickenham, London
20.	Ireland	8–8	Scrumhalf (c)		10 January 1970	Lansdowne Road, Dublin
21.	Wales	6–6	Scrumhalf (c)		24 January 1970	National Stadium, Cardiff
22.	New Zealand	17–6	Scrumhalf (c)	1	25 July 1970	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
23.	New Zealand	8–9	Scrumhalf (c)		8 August 1970	Newlands, Cape Town
24.	New Zealand	14–3	Scrumhalf (c)		29 August 1970	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
25.	New Zealand	20–17	Scrumhalf (c)		12 September 1970	Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Politics

While he was lecturing at RAU, the then rector, Gerrit Viljoen, persuaded him at this time to become active in politics. Against his father's wishes, De Villiers entered politics and stood for election. He was elected to the House of Assembly as MP for Johannesburg West and was re-elected in the elections of 1974 and 1977.

In April 1979, De Villiers was appointed South African Ambassador in London. On his return in October 1980 he became Minister of Trade and Industry. The following year he contested the Gardens constituency in Cape Town, but lost to Ken Andrew of the Progressive Federal Party. He was subsequently elected MP for Piketberg, Cape Province.

While he was the Minister of Trade and Industry, the Liquor Act was passed which desegregated South African bars at the owners’ discretion and the South African Tourist Board was established. In 1983, he called a commission to investigate monopolies, and he stimulated small business in rural and ‘homeland’ areas. In 1989 he became Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs, and of Public Enterprises as well as Cape NP leader.

Death

He died from cancer in Stellenbosch, Western Cape on 23 April 2022.

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 382

References

Attribution

• This article contains text from the Afrikaans Wikipedia article - af:Dawie de Villiers