Dawie de Villiers biography
Dawie de Villiers, byname of Dawid Jacobus de Villiers, (born July 10, 1940, Burgersdorp, S.Af.), South African rugby union participant who was one of many sport’s best scrum halves and captain of the South African nationwide workforce, the Springboks, from 1965 to 1970. After his taking part in days ended, he went on to a extremely profitable political profession.
De Villiers made his debut as captain and scrum half for the Springboks on their tour of New Zealand in 1965 after taking part in for Danie Craven on the University of Stellenbosch. He performed 25 Test (worldwide) matches for South Africa, 22 as captain. He gained fame in 1970 for motivating his teammates to an unlikely 17–6 victory over the favoured All Blacks, New Zealand’s nationwide workforce, by trying every within the eye, pointing to his jersey, and saying, “Suid Afrika.”
De Villiers selected to enter politics after his rugby profession ended. He served as National Party member of Parliament for Johannesburg West (1972–79) and Piketberg (1981–96). He was additionally a member of the highly effective secret group the Afrikaner-Broederbond. He was minister of trade, commerce, and tourism from 1980 to 1994 underneath P.W Botha after which F.W. de Klerk. De Villiers led the National Party delegation to the Convention for a Democratic South Africa, a multiracial conference led by De Klerk and Nelson Mandela, in December 1991. He additionally served as South African ambassador to the United Kingdom and was one among three ministers from the apartheid-era authorities included within the nationwide unity authorities shaped underneath the management of Mandela. De Villiers held the publish of minister for environmental affairs and tourism from 1994 to 1996. After leaving authorities, he grew to become a director of the World Tourism Organization.