Jacobus Hercules "Koos" van der Merwe (4 August 1937 – 22 September 2024) was a South African politician.
[4] Van der Merwe first got involved in politics as a child by helping put up posters for the National Party at the 1948 South African general election.
[4] When the State President F. W. de Klerk announced the end of apartheid in 1990, van der Merwe threatened that the Conservative Party would work to mobilise Afrikaners against the government and led a strike in Pretoria.
[8][9] He also addressed Nelson Mandela directly, calling on him to renounce African National Congress violence and recognise the rights of Afrikaner self-determination.
[4] He was persuaded to stand at the 1994 South African general election and was re-elected and became the IFP's Chief Whip, a position he held until retirement.