Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff, (5 June 1912 – 4 April 1992) 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 1974 to 1982.

Early life and education

Born in

Standerton Standerton is a large commercial and agricultural town lying on the banks of the Vaal River in Mpumalanga, South Africa, which specialises in cattle, dairy, maize and poultry farming. The town was established in 1876 and named after Boer leader Co ...

, Transvaal, Rumpff was educated at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

, where he obtained a BA (1933) and LLB (1935). From 1936 to 1938, he was employed by the Department of Justice and then he became clerk of Judge Maritz of the Transvaal Provincial Division.

Career

In 1938, Rumpff decided to practice as an advocate and joined the Pretoria Bar and also taught part-time in private law at the University of Pretoria. He was appointed

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 1951. He was appointed to the Transvaal Provincial Division 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 1951, and served on the court until 1961. He was the Judge President of the court from 1959 to 1961. In 1961, he was one of the judges who acquitted all the defendants in the

Treason Trial The Treason Trial was a trial in Johannesburg in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956. The main trial lasted until 1961, when all of the defendants were found not g ...

. In 1961, he was appointed to the Appellate Division of the

. He became Chief Justice of South Africa in 1974 in succession to Newton Ogilvie Thompson, and served in that position until his retirement in 1982.

References

1912 births 1992 deaths People from Standerton Afrikaner people South African people of German descent Chief justices of South Africa South African Queen's Counsel University of Pretoria alumni South African judges {{SouthAfrica-law-bio-stub

Early life and education

Career

See also

References