[1] Originally a maize farmer from Lichtenburg in the former Transvaal, Hartzenberg was Minister of Education from 1979 to 1982 in the government of PW Botha.

This made him leader of the official opposition in the white chamber of the South African Parliament, a position he held until the first non-racial elections in April 1994.

The Conservative Party refused to take part in the general election of 1994 and thus lost any parliamentary representation.

Without any national representation, the CP became marginalised, with the white right wing represented in parliament by Constand Viljoen of the Freedom Front.

At the end of 2003, the CP merged with the larger Freedom Front and the Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging to form a new party known as the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) which obtained 4 seats in the general election of 2004.