Louis Botha (Afrikaans pronunciation: ['lu.i 'b??ta]; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa—the forerunner of the modern South African state.
A Boer war hero during the Second Boer War, he would eventually fight to have South Africa become a British Dominion.
In 1905, as prime minister, he called for the newly discovered Cullinan Diamond to be presented to King Edward VII.