United Party
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| Founded : 1934 | |
| Political Position : Centre-Right |
The United Party is the current ruling party of the Union of South Africa. The party's full name is United National South African Party. The party was formed in 1934 as a Union between Barry Hertzog's National Party, Jan Smuts' South African Party, and remnants of the Unionist Party. However, the National Party would break off from the United Party in 1939 over South Africa's commitment to support the British's war effort. Despite this schism, the United Party was able to survive and continued to be the dominant party in the South African parliament coming into 1962.