Background
Carel was born on May 25, 1924, at Memel, 150 miles south-east of Johannesburg.
Carel was born on May 25, 1924, at Memel, 150 miles south-east of Johannesburg.
Educated at Vrede High School in Orange Free State, then at the University of Pretoria where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree, and at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where he gained his medical degrees in 1946. After one year at Bloemfontein National Hospital he practised as a doctor at Boksburg, Transvaal; Winburg, Orange Free State; and then Vanderbijlpark, Transvaal in 1948.
He reached cabinet rank at the age of 42 when he was appointed Minister of Mines on January 23, 1967. He won the Johannesburg West seat for the Nationalists. In September 1968 he was given the extra portfolio of Health.
A bold policy-maker, he gave the go-ahead in October 1969 for more heart transplant operations despite 426 public anxiety after the seventh heart graft patient died. Yet his boldness sometimes backfired. In April 1970 he attacked Mr Harry Oppenheimer, Chairman of Anglo-American, for his multi-racial attitudes and landed himself in serious trouble by issuing warnings of labour supply problems for the company. Other public clashes followed and he was one of the victims of the massive cabinet reshuffle in July 1972.
Politically, he began climbing the ladder as mayor of Vanderbijlpark from 1950 to 1953. He was MP for Vanderbijlpark from 1953 to 1964, when he first became Ambassador to London. In Parliament he was strongly criticised for a statement immediately after the Sharpeville shootings in March 1960 when the total casualties were not known. He said: “It is very disturbing to me that when there are riots of this kind, whether it is rioting by whites or non-whites that only one should be shot.” He did not retract when it was later announced that 67 Africans died. Yet his kind touches were appreciated in London as when he used his medical skill to prevent a truck driver's leg being amputated after an accident outside the embassy in Trafalgar Square.
House of Assembly for Vanderbijlpark 1954-1964, for Johannesburg-West 1967-1972.
Doctor, diplomat, former cabinet minister, and one of the most controversial figures in South African politics. Although his bluntness and his tendency to “put his foot in it” endear him to Transvaalers, his career has suffered from law suits and strong criticism in Parliament and Press. After being dropped from the government and returning for a second term to the London Embassy he is still regarded as a man to watch, capable of bouncing back to the centre of the political scene.
Married Rina Maas in 1949.