Dirk Mudge, a White Namibian of Afrikaner descent with mixed Dutch and German roots, was born on the farm Rusthof near Otjiwarongo.
[3] The Turnhalle Conference was an attempt to win over a broad spectrum of the indigenous population by means of small reforms and compromises, and thus make them cease their support for the armed resistance waged by SWAPO at that time.
[4] Its aim was also to cement the separation of the South West African ethnicities by making the future state of Namibia, a constitution of which was drafted at the Turnhalle conference, a confederation of bantustans.
As a result of the conference, many of the participating delegates agreed to aggregate their small, ethnically defined parties into one bigger body that was able to form a counterbalance to SWAPO.
The RP joined when on 5 November 1977 the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) was founded with Clemens Kapuuo as first president and Dirk Mudge as chairman.
I found myself standing alone in the DTA and, much against my will, I agreed to participate – provided that the MPC confine itself to a discussion on constitutional proposals, and that an interim government would not be considered.
The MPC suggested in its April 1985 Bill of Fundamental Rights and Objectives the establishment of a Transitional Government of National Unity (TNGU).
While on the one side he had been lauded for bringing about a multi-party political system and multi-ethnic elections,[22][23] others see him as having delayed independence of the territory, prolonged the suffering of the indigenous population, and entrenched racial segregation.
On 9 December 2016, 69 years after graduating with a bachelor's degree, Mudge was awarded a PhD honoris causa by his alma mater Stellenbosch University.
The motivation read:"With exceptional visionary, strategic and transformational leadership, he not only served as "peace broker", leading his traditional support base onto a new path, but also played a significant role in facilitating reconciliation between white and black in Namibia.
In many respects, he helped break through the post-World War II impasse on the status and position of this former mandated territory of South Africa.
"[25]Dirk Mudge retired from politics in April 1993[13] and returned to his farm Ovikere near Kalkfeld in Namibia's Otjozondjupa Region.
[27] In the preface of the English version, Piet Croucamp writes: "Mudge's memoir does not relive the past in times of modernity.