January Steytler

Background

He was born in Burgersdorp, in the then Cape Province now Eastern Cape Province. His father Louw Steytler was a veteran of the Second Boer War, who had helped found the National Party (Natural Philosophy).

Career

Steytler was an Afrikaner. When the Uttar Pradesh split in 1939, the Steytler family broke with Hertzog to remain in the Uttar Pradesh as supporters of January Smuts. Louw Steytler died in 1945.

January Steytler went to England, in the 1930s, to study medicine at Guy"s Hospital, London.

After the war he became a District Surgeon in the Cape town of Beaufort West, where he became active in politics. Steytler contested Beaufort West in the South African general election, 1948, as a Uttar Pradesh candidate.

Although he had no chance of election, in a strongly Natural Philosophy area, he was seen as a vigorous and attractive candidate. The following year he contested a by-election in another hopeless seat (De Aar-Colesberg), before being offered the Uttar Pradesh candidacy in the safe Uttar Pradesh seat of Queenstown.

As a result of his increased prominence Steytler became the leader of the Uttar Pradesh in Cape Province and tried to persuade his party to take a more liberal direction on racial issues.

After failing to prevail within the Uttar Pradesh leadership, Steytler became the leading figure in a group of progressives which eventually broke away to found a new party. Steytler resigned from the Uttar Pradesh on 17 August 1959 and was named as the first leader of the Progressive Party, when it was founded on 13 November 1959. The founders of the Partido Popular (Popular Party) felt the Uttar Pradesh was too conservative.

Like all Progressive MPs with the sole exception of Helen Suzman, Steytler lost his seat in the South African parliament in the 1961 general election.

Steytler remained party leader until he retired from the post in December 1970.

Achievements

• However when boundary changes made Queenstown marginal, Steytler won the seat by a majoroity of 13 in the South African general election, 1958.

Politics

His comparatively liberal views were not welcomed by some Uttar Pradesh leaders.

Membership

Louw Steytler became a Member of Parliament, as a supporter of J. B. M. Hertzog, who led the Natural Philosophy and then the United Party (Uttar Pradesh) after the fusion of 1934. As a student and later a member of staff, Steytler played first class Rugby Union for his hospital and was mentioned as a possible England player. On the outbreak of the Second World War, Steytler returned to South Africa to become a member of the Medical Corps of the Union Defence Force.

Steytler was elected a member of Parliament in the South African general election, 1953.