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'Charles Robberts Swart' (1894-1982) served as the last Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 1960 to 1961 and the first State President of the Republic of South Africa from 1961 to 1967.
Born in the Boer republic of the Orange Free State (which became a British colony in 1902 and a province of the Union of South Africa in 1910), Swart qualified as an attorney, and spent a brief period in Hollywood, acting in silent films, before embarking on his public career. As a staunch republican, he was a member of the National Party for many years. He was appointed Minister of Justice when the NP came to power in 1948, and was responsible for legislation to strengthen the powers of the South African Police to suppress anti-apartheid activity.
Swart was appointed Governor-General in 1960. Like his predecessor, Dr Jansen, he declined to take the oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II or to wear the ceremonial uniform. In a referendum later that year, a small majority of White voters endorsed a government proposal to establish a republic. In 1961, after signing the new republican constitution passed by Parliament, he asked the Queen to release him from office, and Parliament then elected him as State President, the new post which replaced the monarch and the governor-general as ceremonial head of state.
Although elected for a seven-year term office, Swart served as State President for only six years, and retired in 1967. He died in 1982. Swart was popularly known as "Blackie" (Swart is Afrikaans for "black").