South Africa The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: From Isolation to Integration to Coherency

Abstract

South Africa’s Foreign Ministry was first established in 1927, shortly after the Balfour Declaration confirmed the Union’s status as independent and equal within the British Commonwealth.¹ After the National Party took power in 1948 and with the changed situation internationally after World War II, there was renewed impetus for reform within the Ministry. In 1951 the first general review was conducted and a separate Africa Division created within the Department. With the exception of this new creation, a functional organization structure was retained (Political, Economic and Consular Divisions; Protocol Division; Administrative and Accounts Divisions; Divisions with ‘specific assignments’) until the next major reorganization in 1969.² By this time South Africa had become a republic, left the British Commonwealth and was increasingly under pressure from a decolonizing international community which regarded South Africa’s internal policies as discriminatory and unacceptable. With the 1969 review the Foreign Ministry was reorganized primarily along geographical lines, though a distinction was still made (within the Political Branch) between bilateral and multilateral relations. Over the years the information service had been added to, separated from and once again added to the Foreign Ministry. In 1983 the internal and external information services were separated, the Foreign Ministry retaining the latter.³