Oswald Pirow

Oswald Pirow QC
Minister of Justice of South Africa
In office 1929–1933
Prime Minister	J. B. M. Hertzog
Preceded by	Tielman Roos
Succeeded by	Jan Smuts
Minister of Defence of South Africa
In office 1933–1939
Prime Minister	J. B. M. Hertzog
Preceded by	Frederic Creswell
Succeeded by	Jan Smuts
Personal details
Born	(1890-08-14)14 August 1890 Aberdeen, Eastern Cape, Cape Colony (now Eastern Cape, South Africa)
Died	11 October 1959(1959-10-11) (aged 69) Pretoria, Transvaal, Union of South Africa
Political party	National Party
Spouse	Else Piel
Children	2 sons, 2 daughters
Residence(s)	Valhalla Farm, near Pilgrim's Rest
Profession	Lawyer

Oswald Pirow, QC (14 August 1890 – 11 October 1959) was a South African lawyer and far-right politician who held office as minister of justice, and later minister of defence for the National and United Party, respectively. Pirow eventually left the UP upon the Second World War and joined Daniel Malan's reunited National Party, but eventually broke when Pirow founded the New Order of South Africa, a marginal fascist group that disbanded before the end of the war. A celebrated jurist, including by future President Nelson Mandela, he served the NP government as a prosecutor in the Treason Trial until his death.