The National Party, also referred to as the Nationalist Party by its opponents, was a political party in South Africa from 1914 to 1997, which was responsible for the implementation of apartheid rule. The party was an Afrikaner ethnic nationalist party, founded in 1914 to protect the interests of Afrikaners against perceived British cultural dominance following the Union of South Africa but later became a stalwart promoter and enactor of white supremacy, for which it is best known. It first became the governing party of the country in 1924. During the 1929-1939 Great Depression it merged with its rival, the South African Party (SAP), and a splinter faction, the Purified National Party became the official opposition. Further Fragmentation during World War II was reversed through the creation of the Reunited National Party, which won power in 1948 and revived the name "National Party".