Alexander Hepple (28 August 1904 – 16 November 1983) was a trade unionist, politician, anti-apartheid activist and author. He was the last leader of the South African Labour Party. Hepple was born in

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

, a suburb of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

to Thomas and Alice Hepple, founding members of the South African Labour Party. His father, who immigrated to South Africa from

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in the north-east of England, was a shop steward of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers and a leader during its

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...

in 1913. Alex Hepple was a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...

and

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

activist from an early age. He was elected to the

Transvaal Province The Province of Transvaal (), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Transvaal" refers to the province's ...

's provincial council in 1943 as a Labour Party MLA and then as a Labour Member of Parliament representing

Rosettenville Rosettenville is a working class suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It lies to the south of the city centre. History Rosettenville was founded in 1886 by the Jewish pioneer, Leo (or Levin) Rosettenstein, whom it is named after. Rosettenstein ...

in the

House of Assembly of South Africa A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

in the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

and 1953 general elections. Hepple was leader of the South African Labour Party from 1953 to 1958 and moved it towards liberal policies on race in opposition to the

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

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

government. He also founded and chaired the anti-apartheid Treason Trial Defence Fund from 1956 to 1961 and chaired the South African Defence and Aid Fund from 1960 to 1964. However, the white working class electorate that had supported the Labour Party by and large rejected Hepple's policies. In the

1958 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1958. Africa * 1958 French Togoland parliamentary election * 1958 Nigerien Constituent Assembly election * 1958 South African general election * 1958 Southern Rhodesian general election * 1958 Sudanese ...

the Labour Party lost all five of its seats and was dissolved soon after the election. He continued his activism after losing his parliamentary seat. In 1962, he and his wife, Josephine, re-established the newspaper, ''Forward'' which was censored and closed by down by the government in 1964. The Hepples then moved to England where they founded the International Defence and Aid Fund's Information Service, an organization that reported on repression and detentions by the apartheid government. In 1967, Hepple wrote ''Verwoerd'', a biography of

South African Prime Minister The prime minister of South Africa ( was the head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984. History of the office The position of Prime Minister was established in 1910, when the Union of South Africa was formed. He was appointed ...

Hendrik Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966), also known as H. F. Verwoerd, was a Dutch-born South African politician, scholar in applied psychology, philosophy, and sociology, and newspaper editor who was Prime Mini ...

who was considered the architect of apartheid. He also wrote ''South Africa: a political and economic history'' in 1966 as well as articles and pamphlets on South African politics. Hepple died in 1983 in exile in

Canterbury, England Canterbury (, ) is a city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climate. Canterbury is a popular tourist destination, wit ...

and was celebrated by the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

whose secretary-general

Alfred Nzo Alfred Baphethuxolo Nzo (19 June 1925 – 13 January 2000) was a South African politician. He served as the longest-standing secretary-general of the African National Congress. He occupied this position (ANC) between 1969 and 1991. He was also ...

, wrote that Hepple "was known and loved by the oppressed people of South Africa for his opposition to the draconian apartheid policies of the South African regime." His son,

Bob Hepple Sir Bob Alexander Hepple Order of Luthuli, OLG (11 August 1934 – 21 August 2015) was a South African-born legal academic and leader in the fields of labour law, equality before the law, equality and human rights. Early life and education He w ...

, was a South African and British academic and lawyer who was "Nelson Mandela’s legal advisor through his 1962 trial". "Hepple was also one of the original Rivonia Trial accused". Bob Hepple was "knighted in 2004." "He was awarded the South African

Order of Luthuli The Order of Luthuli is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003 and is awarded by the President of South Africa for contributions to the struggle for democracy, human rights, nation-building, justice, or peace and conflict ...

(Gold) in 2014".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hepple, Alex 1904 births 1983 deaths South African people of English descent Labour Party (South Africa) politicians Members of the House of Assembly (South Africa) H H South African expatriates in the United Kingdom