South African Party

The South African Party (SAP) was a major political party in South Africa from 1910 until 1934, when it was dissolved and fused with the National Party to form the United Party.

South Africa's first government

The Union of South Africa held its first general elections in September 1910, when the national party system was still in its infancy. The South African Party was formed shortly after the election as a coalition government of 67 members of parliament elected from three provincial parties: the Transvaal's Het Volk (The People), the Orange Free State's Orangia Unie (Orange Union), and the Cape's Afrikaner Bond (Afrikaner Association). Its first leader and prime minister was Louis Botha, one of several Boer War generals who played a prominent role in South African politics during the first half of the twentieth century.