C.R. Swart

C.R. Swart was a lawyer, journalist, actor, politician and the first South African state president.

Formally referred to as C.R. Swart, but widely known as "Blackie Swart" (as is common with Afrikaans-speaking persons bearing the surname "Swart" , i.e. "Black").

Biography

Born Charles Robberts Swart on the Morgenzon farm, in the Winburg district of the old Boer republic of the Orange Free State, on 5 December 1894, he qualified and established himself as a barrister in 1914, practising law in Bloemfontein from 1919–1948.

Contribution to South African theatre, film, media and performance

Though no evidence has been found of any theatrical involvement in South Africa, he spent two years earning a degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York (1921–22) or before embarking on his political career and public life. In that period he reported from Washington for the Die Burger newspaper and also spent a brief period in Hollywood acting in silent films.

The C.R. Swart Prys, awarded annually for the best new Afrikaans one-act play by the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging, is named after him.