Andries Petrus Treurnicht (19 February 1921 – 22 April 1993) was a South African politician, Minister of Education during the Soweto Riots and for a short time leader of the National Party in Transvaal.

[3] In 1982 he founded and led the Conservative Party of South Africa whose successes among the white electorate made him Leader of the Opposition in 1987, a position he retained until his death.

[1] Treurnicht was born in Piketberg, Cape Province, and began his working life as a journalist, being editor of Die Kerkbode and Hoofstad.

[1] He subsequently entered the Dutch Reformed Church (NG Kerk), serving various congregations as minister for fourteen years.

Leading up to the 1981 South African general election, he vowed to maintain the Group Areas Act and claimed that he and his challenger Jaap Marais shared the same policy ideas.

Botha gave Treurnich and the other dissenters a two-day deadline to reverse their position on the confidence motion, or face expulsion from the party.

His death came shortly after the Conservative Party suffered a major blow with the arrest of senior member Clive Derby-Lewis for his role in the assassination of Chris Hani.