List of South African Ministers of Justice
Encyclopedia
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development is the justice minister
in the government of South Africa
. He is the political head of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
, which is responsible for administrative support to the courts, oversight of the National Prosecuting Authority
, the provision of legal services to departments of state, and law reform
.
the incumbent is Jeff Radebe
, who was appointed to the position by President Jacob Zuma
in 2009. His deputy is Andries Nel.
to the current time (2011):
Justice Minister
A justice ministry is a ministry or other government agency charged with justice. The ministry is often headed by a minister for justice or secretary of justice or secretary for justice; sometimes the head of a department of justice is entitled attorney general.Specific duties may relate to...
in the government of South Africa
Government of South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a nearly unique system that combines aspects of parliamentary and presidential systems. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa...
. He is the political head of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is the justice ministry of the South African government. The department provides administrative and financial support to the court system and the judiciary , oversees the National Prosecuting Authority, provides legal advice and...
, which is responsible for administrative support to the courts, oversight of the National Prosecuting Authority
National Prosecuting Authority
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , created a single National Prosecution Authority , which is governed by the National Prosecuting Authority Act...
, the provision of legal services to departments of state, and law reform
Law reform
Law reform or Legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing changes in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency....
.
the incumbent is Jeff Radebe
Jeff Radebe
Jeffrey Thamsanqa "Jeff" Radebe , is currently South Africa's Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development. He was born in Cato Manor, and lived there until 1958 when his family was forcibly removed to KwaMashu....
, who was appointed to the position by President Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
in 2009. His deputy is Andries Nel.
List
This list contains all persons to hold the position of justice minister from the founding of the Union of South AfricaUnion of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
to the current time (2011):
Minister | Party | Incumbency | Under |
---|---|---|---|
J. B. M. Hertzog | SAP South African Party The South African Party was a political party that existed in the Union of South Africa from 1911 to 1934.-History:The outline and foundation for the party was realized after the election of a 'South African party' in the 1910 South African general election under the leadership of Louis Botha... |
1910–1912 | Prime Minister Louis Botha Louis Botha Louis Botha was an Afrikaner and first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa—the forerunner of the modern South African state... |
Jacobus Wilhelmus Sauer | SAP | 1912–1913 | |
Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet was Chief Justice of South Africa and acting Governor-General from 1943 to 1945.Born in 1873, he obtained a law degree from the University of Cambridge in 1895 and was admitted as an advocate in 1896... |
SAP | 1913–1919 | |
1919–1924 | Prime Minister Jan Smuts Jan Smuts Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948... |
||
Tielman Roos Tielman Roos Tielman Johannes de Villiers Roos was a right wing South African politician and sometime Cabinet minister.-Labour politics:... |
NP National Party (South Africa) The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a... |
1924–1929 | Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog |
Oswald Pirow Oswald Pirow Oswald Pirow was a South African lawyer and far right politician, who held office as minister of Justice and Defence.-Early life:... |
NP | 1929–1933 | |
Jan Smuts Jan Smuts Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948... |
SAP/UP United Party (South Africa) The United Party was South Africa's ruling political party between 1934 and 1948. It was formed by a merger of most of Prime Minister Barry Hertzog's National Party with the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts, plus the remnants of the Unionist Party... |
1933–1939 | |
Colin Fraser Steyn Colin Fraser Steyn Colin Fraser Steyn was a lawyer and a politician of Southern Africa, Member of the House of Assembly, Senator, and Cabinet Minister in the government of Jan Smuts.... |
UP | 1939–1945 | Prime Minister Jan Smuts |
Harry Lawrence Harry Lawrence Harry Gordon Lawrence was a South African politician.Harry Lawrence was on the liberal wing of the United Party. He was the most senior of the MPs who broke away and founded the Progressive Party in 1959.... |
UP | 1945–1948 | |
Charles Robberts Swart Charles Robberts Swart Charles Robberts Swart served as the last Governor-General of Union of South Africa from 1960 to 1961 and the first State President of the Republic of South Africa from 1961 to 1967.-Early life:... |
NP | 1948–1954 | Prime Minister Daniel François Malan Daniel François Malan Daniel François Malan , more commonly known as D.F. Malan, was the Prime Minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. He is seen as a champion of Afrikaner nationalism. His National Party government came to power on the program of apartheid and began its comprehensive implementation.- Biography... |
1954–1958 | Prime Minister Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom, commonly called JG Strydom or Hans Strydom , nicknamed the Lion of the North, was Prime Minister of South Africa from 30 November 1954 to 24 August 1958... |
||
1958–1959 | Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd | ||
Frans Erasmus Frans Erasmus Frans C. Erasmus was a South African National Party politician and Minister of Defence from June 1948 to 1959 as well as Minister of justice from 1959 - August 1961.A Fast Attack Craft of the South African Navy was named after him.... |
NP | 1959–1961 | |
B. J. Vorster | NP | 1961–1966 | |
Petrus Cornelius Pelser | NP | 1966–1974 | Prime Minister B. J. Vorster |
Jimmy Kruger Jimmy Kruger James Thomas "Jimmy" Kruger was a South African politician who rose to the position of Minister of Justice and the Police in the cabinet of Prime Minister John Vorster from 1974 to 1979... |
NP | 1974–1978 | |
1978–1979 | Prime Minister P. W. Botha | ||
Alwyn Schlebusch Alwyn Schlebusch Alwyn Schlebusch was the only holder of the title Vice State President of South Africa from 1 January 1981 to 14 September 1984... |
NP | 1979–1980 | |
Kobie Coetsee Kobie Coetsee Hendrik Jacobus Coetsee was a South African lawyer, National Party politician and administrator as well as a negotiator during the country's transition to democracy.... |
NP | 1980–1984 | |
1984–1989 | State President State President of South Africa State President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state... P. W. Botha |
||
1989–1994 | State President F. W. de Klerk | ||
Dullah Omar Dullah Omar Abdullah Mohamed Omar , better known as Dullah Omar, was a South African anti-Apartheid activist, lawyer, and a minister in the South African cabinet from 1994 till his death.-Early life and education:... |
ANC African National Congress The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a... |
1994–1999 | President President of South Africa The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President.... Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing... |
Penuell Maduna | ANC | 1999–2004 | President Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki... |
Brigitte Mabandla Brigitte Mabandla Brigitte Sylvia Mabandla is the South African minister of public enterprises; and formerly the minister of justice and constitutional development.In 1979, she graduated in law from the University of Zambia.-References:... |
ANC | 2004–2008 | |
Enver Surty | ANC | 2008–2009 | President Kgalema Motlanthe |
Jeff Radebe Jeff Radebe Jeffrey Thamsanqa "Jeff" Radebe , is currently South Africa's Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development. He was born in Cato Manor, and lived there until 1958 when his family was forcibly removed to KwaMashu.... |
ANC | 2009– | President Jacob Zuma Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election.... |