15 Facts About Connie Mulder

Cornelius Petrus Mulder was a South African politician and cabinet minister.

Connie Mulder was the son of a school principal and grew up with nine siblings.

Connie Mulder studied for his bachelor of arts degree and received a diploma in education in 1945.

Connie Mulder became involved in local politics in Randfontein, becoming a member of the city council in 1951.

Connie Mulder was elected as the deputy mayor and chair of the council's finance committee and later was elected as the mayor in 1953, when he was 28 years old.

Connie Mulder was elected mayor for a second term in 1957 and he was a member of the United Municipal Executive of South Africa for four years.

Connie Mulder became increasingly involved with the National Party, serving as chair of its divisional committee.

Connie Mulder was elected to the legislature in the 1958 general election, representing the district of Randfontein for the National Party.

Connie Mulder was named as the Minister of Information in 1968 by the Prime Minister John Vorster.

Connie Mulder was later appointed as the Minister of Bantu Administration in 1978, while maintaining his previous ministerial appointment.

In September 1972, Connie Mulder appointed Eschel Rhoodie as the Secretary of Information and the department began to push propaganda, ultimately spending millions to influence media outlets in South Africa and abroad to support the government's Apartheid policies.

Connie Mulder's department financed the South African newspaper The Citizen to bolster support for Vorster's regime among English-speaking South Africans in an attempt to counter the liberal The Rand Daily Mail.

Connie Mulder was retained in Botha's reshuffling of the government.

From documents that reached The Spectator, in a separate scandal, Connie Mulder had a financial interest in certain South African companies which run a group of private enterprise mental homes for the blacks.

Connie Mulder himself lost by 922 votes in the constituency of Randfontein, where he had won in the 1977 general election with a majority of 7,763.