First Cabinet of Louis Botha
# First Cabinet of Louis Botha

The Louis Botha government appointed the members of the government in South Africa led by Prime Minister Louis Botha between 31 May 1910 and 3 September 1919.

The former boer general Louis Botha, Prime Minister of Transvaal was appointed by the British crown to become the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa during its formation on 31 May 1910. The very first national general elections were held on 15 September 1910 and ended in the victory of the coalition led by the "Het Volk" party led by Louis Botha (67 seats) against the 37 seats won by the Unionists of Leander Starr Jameson. The remaining 26 seats were won by small parties.

The Botha coalition, made up of Anglo-Afrikaner parties, became the South African Party. In Elections of October 1915, the South African Party won 54 seats against 40 for Unionists 27 seats in the National Party, 4 seats to the Labour Party of South Africa and six seats distributed among small groups.

## Cabinet

| Post | Minister | Term | Term | Party |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Prime Minister | Gen. Louis Botha | 1910 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Agriculture | The Hon. H.C. van Heerden MP | 1913 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Agriculture | Gen. Louis Botha | 1912 | 1913 | SAP |
| Minister of Agriculture | The Hon. J.W. Sauer MP | 1912 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Agriculture | Gen. Louis Botha | 1910 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry (merged with Department of Mines in 1912) | The Hon. George Leuchars MP | 1911 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry (merged with Department of Mines in 1912) | The Hon. F.R. Moore MP | 1910 | 1911 | SAP |
| Minister of Defence (newly formed) | Gen. Jan Smuts | 1912 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Education | The Hon. F.S. Malan MP | 1910 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Finance | Gen. Jan Smuts | 1912 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Finance | The Hon. Henry Charles Hull MP | 1910 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Interior Affairs | Gen. Jan Smuts | 1913 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Interior Affairs | The Hon. Abraham Fischer MP | 1912 | 1913 | SAP |
| Minister of Interior Affairs | Gen. Jan Smuts | 1910 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Justice | The Hon. Nicolaas de Wet MP | 1913 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Justice | The Hon. J.W. Sauer MP | 1912 | 1913 | SAP |
| Minister of Justice | The Hon. J.B.M. Hertzog MP | 1910 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Lands and Irrigation | The Hon. Hendrik Schalk Theron MP | 1913 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Lands and Irrigation | The Hon. Abraham Fischer MP | 1910 | 1913 | SAP |
| Minister of Mines and Industry | The Hon. F.S. Malan MP | 1912 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Mines and Industry | Gen. Jan Smuts | 1910 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Native Affairs | Gen. Louis Botha | 1913 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Native Affairs | The Hon. J.W. Sauer MP | 1912 | 1913 | SAP |
| Minister of Native Affairs | The Hon. J.B.M. Hertzog MP | 1912 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Native Affairs | The Hon. Henry Burton MP | 1910 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Posts and Telegraphs | The Hon. Thomas Watt MP | 1912 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Posts and Telegraphs | The Hon. George Leuchars MP | 1912 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Posts and Telegraphs | The Hon. D.P. de Villiers Graaf MP | 1910 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Public Works | The Hon. Thomas Watt MP | 1912 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Public Works | The Hon. D.P. de Villiers Graaf MP | 1910 | 1912 | SAP |
| Minister of Railways and Harbours | The Hon. Henry Burton MP | 1912 | 1915 | SAP |
| Minister of Railways and Harbours | The Hon. J.W. Sauer MP | 1910 | 1912 | SAP |

## Sources

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