First Cabinet of Jan Smuts

3rd Cabinet of Union of South Africa (since 1909 South Africa Act)
1920
Jan Smuts (c. 1918)
Date formed	20 March 1920 (1920-03-20)
Date dissolved	8 February 1921 (1921-02-08)
People and organisations
Head of state	King George V (represented by The Viscount Buxton, later Prince Arthur of Connaught)
Head of government	Jan Smuts
No. of ministers	7
Member party	South African Party
Status in legislature	Majority
Opposition party	National Party
Opposition leader	J. B. M. Hertzog
History
Election(s)	1920
Legislature term(s)	10 months and 19 days
Predecessor	Botha II
Successor	Smuts II

Gen. Jan Smuts became Prime Minister, after Louis Botha's death in September 1919. In the general election of 1920, with 134 seats elected to the lower house, the South African Party led by Jan Smuts was ahead by three seats against the National Party (44 seats). Both parties then found themselves forced to form alliances with third parties (unionists and labour) to form the new government. The South African Party was quick to form an alliance with the pro-British Unionist Party (25 seats) and Jan Smuts was reappointed prime minister. Shortly after in the same year, the Unionists agreed to join the South African Party and early general elections were held in February 1921.

Cabinet[]

Post		Minister	Term		Party
	Prime Minister	Gen. Jan Smuts	1919	–	SAP
	Minister of Native Affairs
	Minister of Agriculture	The Hon. F.S. Malan MP	1920	1921	SAP
	Minister of Defence	The Hon. Hendrik Mentz MP	1919	–	SAP
	Minister of Education	The Hon. F.S. Malan MP	1910	1921	SAP
	Minister of Finance	The Hon. Henry Burton MP	1920	–	SAP
	Minister of Public Health	The Hon. Thomas Watt MP	1919	1921	SAP
	Minister of Interior Affairs	The Hon. Thomas Watt MP	1919	1921	SAP
	Minister of Justice	The Hon. Nicolaas de Wet MP	1913	–	SAP
		The Hon. Hendrik Mentz MP	1916	1921	SAP
	Minister of Mines and Industry	The Hon. F.S. Malan MP	1912	–	SAP
	Minister of Posts and Telegraphs	The Hon. Jacobus Arnoldus Graaff MP	1920	1921	SAP
	Minister of Public Works	The Hon. Jacobus Arnoldus Graaff MP	1920	1921	SAP
	Minister of Railways and Harbours	The Hon. Henry Burton MP	1912	1921	SAP

Sources[]

• "Geocities – South Africa". Geocities (Web Archive). Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.