In September 1976, under pressure from US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger he pressured Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Prime Minister, to accept in principle that white minority rule could not continue indefinitely.
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In 1953, Vorster was elected to the House of Assembly representing the seat of Nigel in the Transvaal.
Viljoen was elected to the House of Assembly as MP for Alberton, near Johannesburg, as President of the Senate, and as acting State President from 21 August 1978 to 10 October 1978, after which B.J. Vorster was briefly elected to the position.