| Revision as of 20:44, 5 November 2015 edit105.228.234.210 (talk)No edit summaryTags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit← Previous edit | Revision as of 09:19, 16 November 2015 edit undoAnomalocaris (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers88,129 editsm BBC ''News''; fix bad accessdate; italics; {{cite -journal+news}}; straight apostrophe; italics; subtitle offset by colon not period; link to title only not whole <ref>; rm space before <ref>; comma before nonrestrictive clause; wikilinksNext edit → | ||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
| {{Apartheid}} | {{Apartheid}} | ||
| '''Helen Suzman''', ] (7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a liberal ]n |
'''Helen Suzman''', ] (7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a liberal ]n ] activist and ]. | ||
| ==Early life and career== | ==Early life and career== | ||
| Suzman, a lifelong citizen of South Africa, was born '''Helen Gavronsky''' in 1917 to Samuel and Frieda Gavronsky, ] immigrants.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/01/southafrica-race|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman dies at 91|first=Mark|last=Tran|date=1 January 2009|accessdate=2010-05-04}}</ref><ref name=BBCObituary>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1694056.stm|title=Obituary: Helen Suzman|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2009-01-01|date=1 January 2009}}</ref> Suzman matriculated in 1933 from Parktown Convent, Johannesburg. She studied as an ] and ] at ]. At age 19, she married Dr Moses Suzman (died 1994), who was considerably older than she was; the couple had two daughters. She returned to university lecturing in 1944, later giving up her teaching vocation to enter politics. She was elected to the ] in 1953 as a member of the ] for the Houghton constituency in Johannesburg. | Suzman, a lifelong citizen of South Africa, was born '''Helen Gavronsky''' in 1917 to Samuel and Frieda Gavronsky, ] immigrants.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/01/southafrica-race|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman dies at 91|first=Mark|last=Tran|date=1 January 2009|accessdate=2010-05-04}}</ref><ref name=BBCObituary>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1694056.stm|title=Obituary: Helen Suzman|publisher=BBC News |accessdate=2009-01-01|date=1 January 2009}}</ref> Suzman matriculated in 1933 from Parktown Convent, Johannesburg. She studied as an ] and ] at ]. At age 19, she married Dr Moses Suzman (died 1994), who was considerably older than she was; the couple had two daughters. She returned to university lecturing in 1944, later giving up her teaching vocation to enter politics. She was elected to the ] in 1953 as a member of the ] for the Houghton constituency in Johannesburg. | ||
| ===Political activism=== | ===Political activism=== | ||
| Suzman and eleven other liberal members of the United Party broke away to form the ] in 1959. |
Suzman and eleven other liberal members of the United Party broke away to form the ] in 1959. At the 1961 general election all the other Progressive MPs lost their seats, leaving Suzman as the sole parliamentarian unequivocally opposed to apartheid for thirteen years from 1961 to 1974.<ref>In No Uncertain Terms, Memoirs Helen Suzman Jonathan Ball Publishers</ref><ref name=econ1401>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21594233-long-life-south-african-heroine-liberal-light |title=Liberal light: The long life of a South African heroine |newspaper=] |date=18 January 2014}}</ref> She was often harassed by the police and her phone was tapped by them. She had a special technique for dealing with ], which was to blow a whistle into the mouthpiece of the phone.<ref name=NYTimesObituary>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/world/africa/02suzman.html?pagewanted=1&ref=africa |title=Helen Suzman, Relentless Challenger of Apartheid System, Is Dead at 91 |newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=2009-01-10 | first1=John F. | last1=Burns | first2=Alan | last2=Cowell | date=2 January 2009}}</ref> | ||
| An eloquent public speaker with a sharp and witty manner, Suzman was noted for her strong public criticism of the governing ] policies of ] at a time when this was atypical of white South Africans. |
An eloquent public speaker with a sharp and witty manner, Suzman was noted for her strong public criticism of the governing ] policies of ] at a time when this was atypical of white South Africans. She found herself even more of an outsider because she was an English-speaking Jewish woman in a parliament dominated by ] ] men. She was once accused by a minister of asking questions in parliament that embarrassed South Africa, to which she replied: "It is not my questions that embarrass South Africa; it is your answers."<ref></ref> | ||
| Later, as parliamentary white opposition to apartheid grew, the Progressive Party merged with ]'s Reform Party and became the ]. It was renamed the ], and Suzman was joined in parliament by notable liberal colleagues such as ]. She spent a total of 36 years in parliament.<ref>{{cite |
Later, as parliamentary white opposition to apartheid grew, the Progressive Party merged with ]'s Reform Party and became the ]. It was renamed the ], and Suzman was joined in parliament by notable liberal colleagues such as ]. She spent a total of 36 years in parliament.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary: Helen Suzman |newspaper=The Economist |volume=390 |issue=8613 |page=73 |location=London |date=10 January 2009}}</ref> She visited ] on numerous occasions while he was in prison, and was present when he signed the new ] in 1996.<ref name="CôteSaint-Luc ">{{cite web|url=http://www.cotesaintluc.org/en/HumanRightsWalkway2007|title=Côte Saint-Luc adds name to Human Rights Walkway|accessdate=2009-01-01}}</ref> | ||
| ==Recognition and legacy== | ==Recognition and legacy== | ||
| While working from within the system, she earned the respect of |
While working from within the system, she earned the respect of Nelson Mandela, who praised her courage and credited her with helping to alleviate conditions of incarceration. Always outspoken and independent, she spoke out against the regime but at times opposed Mr. Mandela's policies. She opposed economic sanctions as counter productive and harmful to poor blacks. After Mandela's release "she was prominent among those ... who persuaded him to drop the ANC's revolutionary program in favor of an evolutionary one, retaining a market economy and a parliamentary democracy."<ref name=econ1401/> She continued to be a critic after the fall of Apartheid. She was critical of Mandela when he praised ] as a supporter of human rights.<ref name=econ1401/> According to her biographer, Lord ], before and after the ANC came to power she continued to speak out against those in power who would "put party and state above the individual whether black or white".<ref name=econ1401/> | ||
| The ANC and ] were critical of her method of opposition to Apartheid. She was denounced as an agent of colonialism and "part of the system" as well as for her failure to back sanctions.<ref name=econ1401/> Mandela remained an admirer, saying "the consistency with which you defended the basic values of freedom and the rule of law over the last three decades has earned you the admiration of many South Africans."<ref name=econ1401/> | The ANC and ] were critical of her method of opposition to Apartheid. She was denounced as an agent of colonialism and "part of the system" as well as for her failure to back sanctions.<ref name=econ1401/> Mandela remained an admirer, saying "the consistency with which you defended the basic values of freedom and the rule of law over the last three decades has earned you the admiration of many South Africans."<ref name=econ1401/> | ||
| Suzman was awarded 27 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, was twice nominated for the ]<ref name="Kings">{{cite web|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/news_details.php?news_id=732&year=2008|title= |
Suzman was awarded 27 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, was twice nominated for the ]<ref name="Kings">{{cite web|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/news_details.php?news_id=732&year=2008|title=King's confers first Honorary Degree|publisher=kcl.ac.uk|accessdate=2009-01-01}}</ref> and received countless other awards from religious and human rights organizations around the world. Former Queen of South Africa, ] made her an honorary ] (Civil Division) of the ] in 1989.<ref name="BBCsuzmandies"/> She was voted #24 in the ] TV series. | ||
| ==Death== | ==Death== | ||
| Suzman died on ] 2009, aged 91 of natural causes, in her sleep.<ref name="BBCsuzmandies">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7807070.stm|title=Anti-apartheid icon Suzman dies|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2009-01-01 | date=2 January 2009}}</ref> |
Suzman died on ] 2009, aged 91 of natural causes, in her sleep.<ref name="BBCsuzmandies">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7807070.stm|title=Anti-apartheid icon Suzman dies|publisher=BBC News |accessdate=2009-01-01 | date=2 January 2009}}</ref> ], ] chief executive, said Suzman was a "great patriot and a fearless fighter against apartheid".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/01/world/main4695097.shtml?tag=main_home_storiesBySection|work=CBS News|title=South African Activist Helen Suzman Dies|date=1 January 2009}}</ref> | ||
| <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/01/world/main4695097.shtml?tag=main_home_storiesBySection|work=CBS News|title=South African Activist Helen Suzman Dies|date=1 January 2009}}</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| Line 45: | Line 44: | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ], her niece and ]n actress and director |
* ], her niece and ]n actress and director | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| Line 51: | Line 50: | ||
| ==Bibliography== | ==Bibliography== | ||
| * Joanna Strangwayes-Booth: |
* Joanna Strangwayes-Booth: ''A Cricket in the Thorn Tree: Helen Suzman and the Progressive Party''. Johannesburg Hutchinson Group, 1976. ISBN 0-09 126080 9 | ||
| * Ed. Robin Lee, |
* Ed. Robin Lee, ''Values Alive. A Tribute to Helen Suzman''. Johannesburg, Jonathan Ball, 1990. ISBN 0-947464 23 9 | ||
| * Ed. Phyllis Lewson, |
* Ed. Phyllis Lewson, ''Helen Suzman's Solo Years''. Johannesburg, Jonathan Ball and A.D Donker, 1991. ISBN 0-86852 191 4 | ||
| * Helen Suzman: ''In No Uncertain Terms: A South African Memoir''. |
* Helen Suzman: ''In No Uncertain Terms: A South African Memoir''. New York, Knopf, 1993. ISBN 0-679-40985-8 | ||
| * Exhib. Catalogue |
* Exhib. Catalogue ''Helen Suzman: Fighter for Human Rights''. Cape Town, South African Jewish Museum publ Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies, UCT, 2005, ISBN 0-620 33955 1 | ||
| * Helen Suzman Foundation: |
* Helen Suzman Foundation: ''Focus'': Tribute Issue 48, December 2007, ISSN 1680-9822 | ||
| * Helen Suzman Foundation: |
* Helen Suzman Foundation: ''Focus'': Suzman Tribute Edition, Issue 53, April 2009, ISSN 1680-9822 | ||
| * Gillian Godsell, |
* Gillian Godsell, ''Helen Suzman'' (Series: They Fought for Freedom), Cape Town, Maskew Miller Longman, 2011. ISBN 978-0-636-09816-9 | ||
| * Robin Renwick: ''Helen Suzman |
* Robin Renwick: ''Helen Suzman: Bright Star in a Dark Chamber''. London, Biteback Publ., 2014. ISBN 978-1849546676 | ||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| Line 65: | Line 64: | ||
| * (BBC radio programme) | * (BBC radio programme) | ||
| *, Quebec Canada | *, Quebec Canada | ||
| *, 1 January 2009 | *, 1 January 2009{{dead link|date=November 2015}} | ||
| * | * Mark Tran, ], ''The Guardian'', Thursday 1 January 2009] | ||
| * | * Stanley Uys, , ''The Guardian'', Thursday, 1 January 2009 | ||
| * ] | * Scott Bobb, ] | ||
| * | * , ''The New York Times'', 1 January 2009 | ||
| * ''M&G'' | * ''M&G'' | ||
| {{s-start}} | {{s-start}} | ||
| Line 88: | Line 87: | ||
| | SHORT DESCRIPTION = South African politician | | SHORT DESCRIPTION = South African politician | ||
| | DATE OF BIRTH = 1917-11-07 | | DATE OF BIRTH = 1917-11-07 | ||
| | PLACE OF BIRTH = |
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa | ||
| | DATE OF DEATH = 2009-01-01 | | DATE OF DEATH = 2009-01-01 | ||
| | PLACE OF DEATH = |
| PLACE OF DEATH = Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Suzman, Helen}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Suzman, Helen}} | ||
Revision as of 09:19, 16 November 2015
| Helen Suzman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Houghton | |
| In office 1953–1989 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1917-11-07)7 November 1917 Germiston, Transvaal, South Africa |
| Died | 1 January 2009(2009-01-01) (aged 91) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Political party | United Party Progressive Party Progressive Reform Party Progressive Federal Party |
Helen Suzman, DBE (7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a liberal South African anti-apartheid activist and politician.
Early life and career
Suzman, a lifelong citizen of South Africa, was born Helen Gavronsky in 1917 to Samuel and Frieda Gavronsky, Jewish Lithuanian immigrants. Suzman matriculated in 1933 from Parktown Convent, Johannesburg. She studied as an economist and statistician at Witwatersrand University. At age 19, she married Dr Moses Suzman (died 1994), who was considerably older than she was; the couple had two daughters. She returned to university lecturing in 1944, later giving up her teaching vocation to enter politics. She was elected to the House of Assembly in 1953 as a member of the United Party for the Houghton constituency in Johannesburg.
Political activism
Suzman and eleven other liberal members of the United Party broke away to form the Progressive Party in 1959. At the 1961 general election all the other Progressive MPs lost their seats, leaving Suzman as the sole parliamentarian unequivocally opposed to apartheid for thirteen years from 1961 to 1974. She was often harassed by the police and her phone was tapped by them. She had a special technique for dealing with eavesdropping, which was to blow a whistle into the mouthpiece of the phone.
An eloquent public speaker with a sharp and witty manner, Suzman was noted for her strong public criticism of the governing National Party's policies of apartheid at a time when this was atypical of white South Africans. She found herself even more of an outsider because she was an English-speaking Jewish woman in a parliament dominated by Calvinist Afrikaner men. She was once accused by a minister of asking questions in parliament that embarrassed South Africa, to which she replied: "It is not my questions that embarrass South Africa; it is your answers."
Later, as parliamentary white opposition to apartheid grew, the Progressive Party merged with Harry Schwarz's Reform Party and became the Progressive Reform Party. It was renamed the Progressive Federal Party, and Suzman was joined in parliament by notable liberal colleagues such as Colin Eglin. She spent a total of 36 years in parliament. She visited Nelson Mandela on numerous occasions while he was in prison, and was present when he signed the new constitution in 1996.
Recognition and legacy
While working from within the system, she earned the respect of Nelson Mandela, who praised her courage and credited her with helping to alleviate conditions of incarceration. Always outspoken and independent, she spoke out against the regime but at times opposed Mr. Mandela's policies. She opposed economic sanctions as counter productive and harmful to poor blacks. After Mandela's release "she was prominent among those ... who persuaded him to drop the ANC's revolutionary program in favor of an evolutionary one, retaining a market economy and a parliamentary democracy." She continued to be a critic after the fall of Apartheid. She was critical of Mandela when he praised Muammar Qaddafi as a supporter of human rights. According to her biographer, Lord Robin Renwick, before and after the ANC came to power she continued to speak out against those in power who would "put party and state above the individual whether black or white".
The ANC and SACP were critical of her method of opposition to Apartheid. She was denounced as an agent of colonialism and "part of the system" as well as for her failure to back sanctions. Mandela remained an admirer, saying "the consistency with which you defended the basic values of freedom and the rule of law over the last three decades has earned you the admiration of many South Africans."
Suzman was awarded 27 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and received countless other awards from religious and human rights organizations around the world. Former Queen of South Africa, Elizabeth II made her an honorary Dame Commander (Civil Division) of the Order of the British Empire in 1989. She was voted #24 in the Top 100 Great South Africans TV series.
Death
Suzman died on New Year's Day 2009, aged 91 of natural causes, in her sleep. Achmat Dangor, Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive, said Suzman was a "great patriot and a fearless fighter against apartheid".
See also
- List of South Africans
- List of Jews from Sub-Saharan Africa
- Progressive Party (South Africa)
- Janet Suzman, her niece and South African actress and director
References
- Tran, Mark (1 January 2009). "Anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman dies at 91". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- "Obituary: Helen Suzman". BBC News. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
- In No Uncertain Terms, Memoirs Helen Suzman Jonathan Ball Publishers
- ^ "Liberal light: The long life of a South African heroine". The Economist. 18 January 2014.
- Burns, John F.; Cowell, Alan (2 January 2009). "Helen Suzman, Relentless Challenger of Apartheid System, Is Dead at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
- The Helen Suzman Foundation
- "Obituary: Helen Suzman". The Economist. Vol. 390, no. 8613. London. 10 January 2009. p. 73.
- "Côte Saint-Luc adds name to Human Rights Walkway". Retrieved 1 January 2009.
- "King's confers first Honorary Degree". kcl.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
- ^ "Anti-apartheid icon Suzman dies". BBC News. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
- "South African Activist Helen Suzman Dies". CBS News. 1 January 2009.
Bibliography
- Joanna Strangwayes-Booth: A Cricket in the Thorn Tree: Helen Suzman and the Progressive Party. Johannesburg Hutchinson Group, 1976. ISBN 0-09 126080 9
- Ed. Robin Lee, Values Alive. A Tribute to Helen Suzman. Johannesburg, Jonathan Ball, 1990. ISBN 0-947464 23 9
- Ed. Phyllis Lewson, Helen Suzman's Solo Years. Johannesburg, Jonathan Ball and A.D Donker, 1991. ISBN 0-86852 191 4
- Helen Suzman: In No Uncertain Terms: A South African Memoir. New York, Knopf, 1993. ISBN 0-679-40985-8
- Exhib. Catalogue Helen Suzman: Fighter for Human Rights. Cape Town, South African Jewish Museum publ Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies, UCT, 2005, ISBN 0-620 33955 1
- Helen Suzman Foundation: Focus: Tribute Issue 48, December 2007, ISSN 1680-9822
- Helen Suzman Foundation: Focus: Suzman Tribute Edition, Issue 53, April 2009, ISSN 1680-9822
- Gillian Godsell, Helen Suzman (Series: They Fought for Freedom), Cape Town, Maskew Miller Longman, 2011. ISBN 978-0-636-09816-9
- Robin Renwick: Helen Suzman: Bright Star in a Dark Chamber. London, Biteback Publ., 2014. ISBN 978-1849546676
External links
- Helen Suzman (BBC radio programme)
- Helen Suzman honoured in Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec Canada
- The Post, 1 January 2009
- Mark Tran, "Anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman dies at 91"], The Guardian, Thursday 1 January 2009]
- Stanley Uys, "Helen Suzman: Campaigner who single-handedly carried the anti-racism banner in South Africa's apartheid parliament", The Guardian, Thursday, 1 January 2009
- Scott Bobb, "Anti-Apartheid Activist Helen Suzman Dies at 91" Voice of America
- "Helen Suzman, Anti-Apartheid Leader, Dies at 91", The New York Times, 1 January 2009
- "Helen Suzman: The woman who changed a nation" M&G
| House of Assembly of South Africa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by???? | Member of Parliament for Houghton 1953–1989 |
Succeeded by???? |
| Liberalism in South Africa | |
|---|---|
| Apartheid-era political parties and groups | |
| Post-Apartheid political parties and groups | |
| People before and during the apartheid era | |
| Post-apartheid people | |
- Use dmy dates from March 2012
- Use South African English from March 2012
- 1917 births
- 2009 deaths
- People from Germiston
- South African Jews
- United Party (South Africa) politicians
- Progressive Party (South Africa) politicians
- Progressive Reform Party (South Africa) politicians
- Progressive Federal Party politicians
- Anti-apartheid activists
- Honorary Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Jewish South African politicians
- South African activists
- Women legislators in South Africa
- South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
- Members of the House of Assembly of South Africa