" One of the architects of our democracy": Colin Eglin, the Progressive Federal Party and the leadership of the official parliamentary opposition, 1977-1979 and 1986-1987
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Date
2015-06
Authors
Mouton, F. A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State
Abstract
The political career of Colin Eglin, leader of the Progressive Federal Party (PFP) and the official
parliamentary opposition between 1977‑1979 and 1986‑1987, is proof that personality matters in
politics and can make a difference. Without his driving will and dogged commitment to the principles
of liberalism, especially his willingness to fight on when all seemed lost for liberalism in the apartheid
state, the Progressive Party would have floundered. He led the Progressives out of the political
wilderness in 1974, turned the PFP into the official opposition in 1977, and picked up the pieces after
Frederik van Zyl Slabbert’s dramatic resignation as party leader in February 1986. As leader of the
parliamentary opposition, despite the hounding of the National Party, he kept liberal democratic values
alive, especially the ideal of incremental political change. Nelson Mandela described him as, “one of
the architects of our democracy”.
Description
Keywords
Colin Eglin, Progressive Party, Progressive Federal Party, Liberalism, Apartheid, National Party, Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, Leader of the official parliamentary opposition
Citation
Mouton, F. A. (2015). " One of the architects of our democracy": Colin Eglin, the Progressive Federal Party and the leadership of the official parliamentary opposition, 1977-1979 and 1986-1987. Journal for Contemporary History, 40(1), 1-22.