Dirk Frederik Mudge (16 January 192826 August 2020) was a Namibian politician. He served in several high-ranking positions in the South African administration of South West Africa, was the chairman of the 1975–1977 Turnhalle Constitutional Conference, and co-founded the Republican Party (RP) of Namibia as well as the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), now known as the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM). At Namibian independence, Mudge was a member of the Constituent Assembly and 1st National Assembly until he retired in 1993. Mudge was the founder of Namibia's Afrikaans daily Die Republikein and its publisher Namibia Media Holdings. He served on the board of directors until 2008. Early life and education Dirk Mudge, a White Namibian of Afrikaner descent with mixed Dutch and German roots, was born on the farm Rusthof near Otjiwarongo. He was a farmer by profession. In 1947, he graduated from Stellenbosch University with a Bachelor of Commerce, whereupon he worked as an accountant in Windhoek. Between 1952 and 1960, he farmed with cattle. Political career Until the 1975–77 Turnhalle conference In 1955, Mudge became a member of the pro-apartheid National Party (NP), which governed South Africa between 1948 and 1994. He was elected to the whites-only Legislative Assembly in 1961 to represent Otjiwarongo. In 1965, Mudge became a member of the Executive Committee for South West Africa and thus a high-ranking administrator of the territory, holding this position until 1977. When AH du Plessis, the leader of the South West African branch of the National Party, was appointed Minister in 1969, Mudge acted in his position as leader of the NP. At that time he began to disagree with NP's views on the future of South West Africa. He forged a friendship with Herero Chief Clemens Kapuuo, discussed plans for a self-governed South West Africa with then-Prime Minister of South Africa John Vorster, and became one of the driving forces behind the 1975–77 Turnhalle Constitutional Conference. The Turnhalle Conference was an attempt to win over a broad spectrum of the indigenous population by means of small reforms and compromises, and thus make them cease their support for the armed resistance waged by SWAPO at that time. Its aim was also to cement the separation of the South West African ethnicities by making the future state of Namibia, a constitution of which was drafted at the Turnhalle conference, a confederation of bantustans. Mudge served as chairman. As a result