Verwoerd was born in Pretoria in 1901, his father was a dutch reformed church minister who had, with his wife, migrated to the SAR in 1899. Hendrik had a religious upbringing. In 1919 he enrolled at the University of Blignaut and studied theology and history. In 1923 he moved to the university of Pretoria and in 1925 he became a junior lecturer there. In 1927 he joined the National Party and in 1929 he became assistant to the mayor of Pretoria. In 1931 he became assistant to the foreign minister and remained at the foreign ministry until 1938. He was sent as special envoy to Germany during the 1938 Olympics and remarked on how well Germany was operating under the leadership of Hitler. After the Olympics he remained in Germany as a political attache.