orig. Balthazar Johannes Vorster
born Dec. 13, 1915, Jamestown, Cape Province, S.Af.
died Sept. 10, 1983, Cape Town
South African prime minister (1966–78).
Vorster was arrested in 1942 for supporting Germany in World War II. In the 1948 elections he was rejected by the Hendrik Verwoerd , he rigidly enforced {{link=apartheid">apartheid . When Verwoerd was assassinated, Vorster was chosen to replace him. In the 1970s he sent troops into Angola against its Soviet-and Cuban-supported government. He resigned in 1978 and took the ceremonial post of president, but a scandal forced his resignation.