Dr Piet Koornhof, one of the most controversial figures in South African history, dies

Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Dr Piet Koornhof, one of the most controversial figures in South African history, dies

Dr Piet Koornhof, one of the most controversial figures from South Africa's apartheid era, died in a Stellenbosch frail care centre at the age of 82, following a stroke. Early in his life, as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, Koornhof wrote a doctoral thesis that fully accepted the inevitability of black urbanisation. Koornhof was born in Leeudoringstad, in what is currently North West Province, on August 2, 1925. In 2001, Koornhof surprised many of his comrades when he joined the ANC, serving as Member of Parliament. His eldest son, Dr Gerhard Koornhof, also joined the ANC in 2003.

How we know this

01The Telegraph, "Piet Koornhof",From: The Telegraph,[Online], Available at: www.telegraph.co.uk,[Accessed : 12 November 2013]
02Mail & Guardian, (2007), ‘Piet Koornhof, a man of contradictions’, 15 November, [online], available at www.mg.co.za (Accessed: 01 October 2012)

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2019, May 2). Dr Piet Koornhof, one of the most controversial figures in South African history, dies. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129917

South African History Online (2019) 'Dr Piet Koornhof, one of the most controversial figures in South African history, dies', South African History Online, 2 May. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129917 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

South African History Online, Dr Piet Koornhof, one of the most controversial figures in South African history, dies [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129917, (accessed 22 October 2026).

"Dr Piet Koornhof, one of the most controversial figures in South African history, dies." South African History Online, 2 May 2019, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129917. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Dr Piet Koornhof, one of the most controversial figures in South African history, dies." South African History Online. May 2, 2019. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0129917.