Leon Wessels (born 19 April 1946) is a South African lawyer, politician, and activist who served in the National Party government during the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

years and was one of very few

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cast ...

politicians to show public contrition for the acts of that government.

Education

FW de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South A ...

he attended ''Hoërskool Monument'' in

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a major town in the west ...

, South Africa. After matriculating from that school in 1963 Wessels went on to obtain amongst others the

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

(LLB) degree from the

Potchefstroom University The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (abbreviated as PU for CHE) was a South African university located in Potchefstroom. Instruction was mainly in Afrikaans. In 2004, the university was merged with other institutions to cr ...

in 1972 and in 2001 the

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

(LLD) degree from the

Rand Afrikaans University The Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) was a prominent South African institution of higher education and research that served the greater Johannesburg area and surroundings from 1967 to 2004. It has since merged with the Technikon Witwatersrand ...

. While an undergraduate he was chairman of Potchefstroom's Students' Representative Council (SRC) and from 1971 to 1973 president of the ''Afrikaner Studentebond'' (ASB) a student organisation in which many white leaders served their political apprenticeships.

Apartheid-era politician

Wessels entered national politics in 1977 when he was elected National Party member of parliament (MP) for the Krugersdorp constituency, an Afrikaner stronghold. Though increasingly identified as a ''verligte'' (a member of the party's more liberal wing) over the next two decades he rose through party ranks to become a Cabinet member, ending this chapter of his political career in the last apartheid administration as Minister of Local Government, National Housing and Manpower.

After apartheid

At the hearings of the

South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sun� ...

into illegal acts of the country's security forces, Wessels – a former Deputy Law and Order Minister – acknowledged: "I do not believe the political defence of `I did not know' is available to me because in many respects I believe I did not want to know". In 1999 he was appointed to the

South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissioner ...

where he was responsible for monitoring the

Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 The Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (or PAIA; Act No. 2 of 2000) is a freedom of information law in South Africa. It gives the constitutional right of access to any information held by the State and any information held by private b ...

, a law central to ensuring transparency in government, business and civil society.

Personal life

His wife, Tersia Wessels became a member of the Gauteng provincial legislature representing the Congress of the People in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wessels, Leon Political office-holders in South Africa Living people People from Krugersdorp National Party (South Africa) politicians Afrikaner people 1946 births Government ministers of South Africa