André Edgar Antonio Maria Thomashausen is a professor emeritus of international, comparative and constitutional law at the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

and a legal scholar with expertise in

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

, private and

public international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, and law in African contexts. He is best known for negotiator of the Transitional Constitution of Namibia (1984-1985) and drafter for the South African Department of Water Affairs for the Lesotho Highlands Water Treaty, from 1983 to 1986.

Biography

Thomashausen grew up in Portugal and pursued his studies across multiple countries, including

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He completed his secondary education at the German School in Lisbon, earning German and Portuguese university entrance certificates. His higher education journey saw him obtaining a law degree from Germany, followed by advanced legal qualifications, culminating in a doctorate with the summa cum laude from Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, in 1980. In 1979 he was awarded the "Förderpreis of Hermann-Ehlers Stiftung" in recognition for his contribution to the shaping of the Federal Republic of Germany into a free and social State. His doctoral thesis focused on constitutional law in post-revolutionary Portugal.

Career

Professional career He began his career as a negotiator of the Transitional Constitution of Namibia (1984-1985) and drafter for the South African Department of Water Affairs, for the Lesotho Highlands Water Treaty, from 1983 to 1986. From 1990 to 1992, he was instrumental in negotiating and drafting the

Rome General Peace Accords The Rome General Peace Accords, officially the General Peace Accords (), was a peace treaty signed between the government of Mozambique and RENAMO, ending the Mozambican Civil War on October 4, 1992. Negotiations preceding the agreement began i ...

, serving as a special advisor to the United Nations Operation in Mozambique that implemented the General Peace Accord of 4 October 1992. His role in the modern history of Mozambique was detailed in a 30 minute documentary produced by Jean-Christophe Rufin and broadcast by ARTE TV channel in Europe on 25 July 2006. His work in peacebuilding continued in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, where from 1998 to 2004, he consulted with the Angolan president's office on conflict resolution and legal reforms, focusing later on naval rehabilitation and maritime security in the Southern Atlantic. Since his admission to the Bar in Frankfurt in 2000, with leave to have chambers in South Africa, He has defended clients and contributed as an expert witness, to international commercial and family law trials, before senior courts in

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, Liberia, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, the UK, and Zambia. From 1986 to 1991, he was the Southern African regional representative for the Herbert Quandt Foundation, where he organized strategic workshops in anticipation of South Africa's political changes. Since 2004, he has been a Senior Council member of the Southern African German Chamber of Commerce and Industry where he is also a member of the Chambers Mediation Panel. In recent years, he has acted as a subject matter expert on government performance for UAE Federal Entities, working on excellence programs for the State of Ajman and

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

since 2016. Academic career Thomashausen's academic career spans more than three decades, with his appointment as a professor of international law at

UNISA The University of South Australia is a Public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along ...

in 1984. He has also served as the Institute of Foreign and Comparative Law Director at the university. In addition to his teaching and research roles, he played a role in transforming the Department of Public, Constitutional, and International Law (PCI-Law) at UNISA into a racially integrated flagship department. His publications are in several languages, including English, German, French, Portuguese, Turkish, and Mandarin.https://www.ae-info.org/attach/User/Thomashausen_Andr%C3%A9_Edgar_Antonio_Maria/CV/Th_prof_exp%2016102018.pdf André Thomashausen grew up in Portugal from 1953 to 1970 and then graduated in law in Germany His areas of specialization include constitutional law, international commercial transactions, natural resources law, and anti-corruption law. He has published widely in Europe, China, and Africa, cementing his status as a globally recognized legal scholar. He is since 2012 a member of the

European Academy of sciences European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

Views

Thomashausen advocates deepening economic and strategic ties between

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, mainly through the

Community of Portuguese Language Countries The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (; : CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth or Lusophone Community (), is an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across four continents, where Portug ...

(CPLP). He sees Africa's economic growth, increasing stability, and the influence of the

BRICS BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The idea of a BRICS-like group can be traced back to Russian foreign ...

as crucial factors strengthening the potential for cooperation between Portugal and its former colonies as well as generally for EU – Africa relation. He has criticized the Mozambican authorities for their handling of post-election protests, highlighting significant legal and constitutional violations, in an interview with Deutsche Welle (DW), Thomashausen expressed concerns over the deployment of war-grade weaponry and armored vehicles against peaceful demonstrators.

Selected publications

Journals

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Books

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References

External links

Scholar ProfileResearchGate Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomashausen, Andre University of Kiel alumni Civil rights lawyers South African legal scholars Scholars of constitutional law International law scholars Public law scholars Academic staff of the University of South Africa Living people Year of birth missing (living people)