Rowan Cronjé (22 September 1937 – 8 March 2014) was a Rhodesian politician who served in the cabinet under prime ministers Ian Smith and Abel Muzorewa, and was later a Zimbabwean MP.

He was briefly Deputy Minister of Lands, Natural Resources, and Rural Development of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979.

Cronjé was born in the Union of South Africa to parents of Afrikaner descent,[1][2] before emigrating to Southern Rhodesia, which was then governed as a British colony.

[12] In 1977, Cronjé was appointed minister of the newly created Ministry of Manpower, Industrial Relations, and Social Affairs of Rhodesia.

[15] As Minister of Manpower and Social Affairs, he oversaw the elections process as Rhodesia transitioned from white minority rule to multiracial democracy.

[18][19] In regard to the rebels fighting the government in the Rhodesian Bush War, the leaders agreed that amnesty would be declared and that guerrillas would be offered retraining for entry into the existing army.

[1] He relocated to Bophuthatswana, a bantustan which the South African government made independent in 1977 and which was led by President Lucas Mangope.

"[1][23] Defending the large number of white cabinet members in Bophuthatswana, he said, "[President Mangope] has realized from the first day, to run the complicated business of a government is not yet within the grasp of his people.

Cronjé worked to defuse tensions and avoid confrontation with South Africa, hoping to maintain Bophuthatswana's independence into the future.

"[30] He argued that the homeland would be able to withstand an economic blockade by South Africa, saying in 1993, "We'll have to tighten our belts"[2] and "reduce our budget.

"[2] Ultimately, by December 1993, Bophuthatswana gave up its ambitions for independence and rejoined the negotiations with the South African government and the ANC.