Ernest Frederick Watermeyer, PC, QC (12 October 1880 – 18 January 1958), was the

Chief Justice of South Africa The chief justice of South Africa is the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court and head of the judiciary of South Africa, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the courts. The position of chief justic ...

from 1943 to 1950. Watermeyer was born in

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet (; Xhosa: eRhafu) is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province and the fourth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The to ...

in 1880. He was educated at Stellenbosch Gymnasium,

Bath College Bath College is a further education college in the centre of Bath, Somerset and in Westfield, Somerset, England. It was formed in April 2015 by the merger of City of Bath College and Norton Radstock College. The College also offers Higher Ed ...

and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

, where he read Mathematics, then Law. He was called to the bar in England by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1904, and admitted to the Cape bar in 1905. He became a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1921. From 1922 to 1937, he was a judge of the

Cape Provincial Division The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Cape Provincial Division and the Western Cape High Court, and commonly known as the Cape High Court) is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the ...

of the

Supreme Court of South Africa The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1997. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was th ...

. In 1937, he was promoted to the Supreme Court's Appellate Division. In 1943, he was appointed Chief Justice of South Africa and was sworn of the Privy Council the same year, the last Chief Justice of South Africa to be made a Privy Counsellor. He served as Officer Administering the Government of the Union of South Africa in 1950, and retired the same year.

References

Chief justices of South Africa 1880 births 1958 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge South African members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Inner Temple South African Queen's Counsel South African judges Alumni of Paul Roos Gymnasium {{SouthAfrica-law-bio-stub