Thus, the prime minister was the country's leading political figure and de facto chief executive, with powers similar to those of his British counterpart.

The last Prime Minister of South Africa, P. W. Botha, became the first executive State President after the constitutional reform in 1984 after Marais Viljoen's retirement.

After Botha, F. W. de Klerk became the last president and head of state for the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Both Botha and de Klerk were members of the National Party which was responsible for implementing apartheid.

In post-apartheid South Africa, the Inkatha Freedom Party has called for a return to a Westminster-style split executive with a Prime Minister as head of government, which is part of its overarching goal of avoiding a single-party South African state.