Who started apartheid?

The all-white National Party started apartheid in South Africa. The party seized power in 1948 and proceeded to enforce previously existing segregation policies.

Apartheid was a policy that had many years of precedent before it was finally enacted in 1948. Racial segregation and policies that reflected white supremacy were a big part of the South African political landscape for a long time before the official beginning of apartheid. Apartheid forced the black majority in the country to live in areas separated from whites and to use different public facilities. Apartheid remained in effect until 1991, when it started being repealed.