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On October 5, 1960, South Africa's white minority government held a referendum on whether or not the then Union should sever links with the British monarchy and become a republic. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (279th in Leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Ballots of the Argentine plebiscite of 1984 on the border treaty with Chile A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... National motto: Ex Unitate Vires (Latin: From Unity, strength} Official languages Afrikaans, Dutch and English. ... This article describes the British monarchy from the perspective of the United Kingdom. ... In a broad definition, a republic is a state or country that is led by people whose political power is based on principles that are not beyond the control of the people of that state or country. ...

The Afrikaner-dominated National Party, which came to power in 1948, was avowedly republican, and regarded South Africa's links with the Crown as a relic of British imperialism. Afrikaners are an ethnic group primarily associated with Southern Africa and the Afrikaans language. ... The National Party (Afrikaans: Nasionale Party) (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of South Africa from June 4th 1948 until May 9th 1994, and was disbanded in 2005. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... It has been suggested that Républicanisme be merged into this article or section. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

However, it was not until 1960 that the Prime Minister, Hendrik Verwoerd, held a referendum on the issue. On October 5, 1960, South Africa's whites were asked: 'Do you support a republic for the Union?'. The result was 52 per cent in favour of the change. 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... This is a list of South African Prime Ministers. ... Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (8 September 1901 - 6 September 1966) was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1958 to 1966, when he was assassinated. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (279th in Leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ...

Prior to the referendum, Verwoerd had lowered the voting age for whites to 18, and had also included the white voters of South West Africa (now Namibia) on the electoral roll so that the referendum would pass, as the Afrikaners were on average younger than the English South Afrikans and had a higher birth rate. It was also the case that the Afrikaners had more preponderance in Namibia than the English South Africans. South-West Africa is the former name (1884-1990) of Namibia under German (as German South-West Africa, Deutsch Süd-West Afrika) and (from 1915) South African administration when it was conqured from the Germans during World War I. Following the war, the Treaty of Versailles declared the territory...

Whites in the former Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State voted decisively in favour, as did ones in South West Africa. In the Cape Province there was a smaller majority, while Natal, which had more English-speaking whites than Afrikaans-speaking ones, voted against. Some whites in Natal even called for secession from the Union, but this was never seriously considered. Afrikaners are white South Africans of predominantly Calvinist Dutch, German, French Huguenot, Friesian and Walloon descent who speak Afrikaans. ... Flag of Transvaal For the Russian theme park, see Transvaal Park. ... Capital Bloemfontein Created 1854 Dissolved 1900 Official language Dutch (Afrikaans more common) The Orange Free State (Afrikaans: Oranje Vrystaat) was an independent country in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a province in South Africa. ... Under the Union of South Africa and after that under the Republic of South Africa, the old Cape Colony became the Cape of Good Hope Province (though it was commonly known as the Cape Province). ... KwaZulu-Natal (often referred to as KZN) is a province of South Africa. ... South African English is a dialect of English spoken in South Africa and in neighbouring countries with a large number of Anglo-Africans living in them, such as Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. ... Look up Wiktionary:Swadesh lists for Afrikaans and Dutch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The opposition United Party actively campaigned for a 'No' vote, while the smaller Progressive Party appealed to supporters of the proposed change to 'reject this republic', arguing that South Africa's membership of the Commonwealth, with which it had privileged trade links, would be threatened. The United Party was South Africas ruling political party between 1934 and 1948. ... The Progressive Party was a liberal South African party that opposed the ruling National Partys policies of apartheid. ... The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, the majority of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ...

The National Party had not ruled out continued membership after the country became a republic, but the Commonwealth now had new Asian and African members who saw the apartheid regime's membership as an affront to the organisation's democratic principles. Consequently, South Africa left the Commonwealth on becoming a republic. Dr. Verwoerd pretended that he intended to maintain the Commonwealth membership. At a Commonwealth heads of government meeting held after the referendum, he raised the issue of his country becoming a republic. This should not have caused too many problems, as India maintained its Commonwealth membership despite becoming a republic in 1949, but Dr. Verwoerd stirred up a confrontation, causing many members to threaten to withdraw if South Africa's renewal of membership application was accepted. As a result (in accordance with Dr. Verwoerd's plan), the membership application was withdrawn, meaning that when South Africa became a republic, its Commonwealth membership simply lapsed. Many Afrikaners welcomed this as a clean break with the colonial past. World map showing the location of Asia. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... Democracy (literally rule by the people, from the Greek demos, people, and kratos, rule) is a form of government for a nation state, or for an organization in which all the citizens have an equal vote or voice in shaping policy or electing government officials. ... See colony and colonisation for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism. ...

When the Republic of South Africa was declared on May 31, 1961, Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state, and the last Governor General of the Union took office as the first State President. May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of 16 sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... The Governor General of the Union of South Africa was the representative of the British Crown in South Africa between May 31, 1910 and May 31, 1961. ... From 1961 to 1994, South Africas head of state was called the State President or Staatspresident in Afrikaans. ...

Other symbolic changes also occurred:

• Legal references to the 'Crown' were replaced by those to the 'State'
• Queen's Counsels became known as Senior Counsels
• The Crown was removed from the badges of the military and police
• Her Majesty's South African Ships became known simply as South African Ships
• The 'Royal' title was dropped from the names of some South African Army regiments, such as the Natal Carbineers (however, some institutions retained the 'Royal' title, such as the Royal Natal National Park and the Royal Society of South Africa)

The new decimalised currency, the Rand, which did not feature the Queen's portrait on either notes or coinage, had already been introduced before the establishment of the Republic. Cherie Booth QC wearing her ceremonial robes (including full-bottomed wig) as Queens Counsel at the Bar of England and Wales. ... The title of Senior Counsel (postnominal SC; 資深大律師 in Hong Kong Cantonese [1] [2]; 高级律师 in Singapore Mandarin [3] [4]) or State Counsel is given to a senior barrister or advocate in some countries, especially in Commonwealth countries or jurisdictions in which the British monarch is no longer head of state, such... The British monarch or Sovereign is the monarch and head of state of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, and is the source of all executive, judicial and (as the Queen_in_Parliament) legislative power. ... The South African Army is the army of South Africa, also known in Afrikaans as the Suid-Afrikaanse Leër. ... The Natal Carbineers Regiment is an Infantry regiment of the South African Army. ... Decimalisation (or Decimalization) refers to any process of converting from traditional units, usually of money, to a decimal system. ... ISO 4217 Code ZAR User(s) Common Monetary Area: Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland Inflation 5. ...

However, the only notable difference between the Constitution of the Republic and that of the Union was that the State President was the ceremonial head of state, in place of the Queen and Governor-General. The National Party decided against having an executive presidency, instead adopting a minimalist approach, as a conciliatory gesture to English-speaking whites who were opposed to a republic; the presidency was made an executive one in 1983 with the release of the new constitution. Similarly, the Union Jack remained a feature of the Flag of South Africa until 1994, despite its unpopularity among many Afrikaners. Flag Ratio: 1:2 Union Jack is the commonly used name for the Union Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ... Flag ratio: 2:3 The current design of the National Flag of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994, the end of apartheid prompting the widespread conviction that a new national flag must include the cultures of all South Africans. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...