Gavin Relly (Born 1926 in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

– died 10 January 1999 in

Hermanus Hermanus (; originally called ''Hermanuspietersfontein'', but shortened in 1902 as the name was too long for the postal service

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

) was a South African businessman and former chairman of Anglo American.

Early life

His grandfather was

Sir Walter Stanford Sir Walter Ernest Mortimer Stanford (2 August 1850 – 9 September 1933) was a South African civil servant and politician. Stanford was born in Alice, South Africa, in 1850 and was educated at the Lovedale Mission School. He left school and b ...

, who argued strongly but unsuccessfully for enfranchisement for native peoples regardless of their race or colour at the National Convention of 1909, which led to the creation of the

under the terms of the

South Africa Act 1909 The South Africa Act 1909 (9 Edw. 7. c. 9) was an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Union of South Africa out of the former Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Orange River Colony, Orange ...

. Relly was educated at

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established o ...

and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

before serving in Italy during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He then worked for Sir

de Villiers Graaff Sir De Villiers Graaff, 2nd Baronet, (8 December 1913 – 4 October 1999) (first name De Villiers, surname De Graeff, Graaff) known as Div Graaff, was a South African politician who succeeded his father, Sir David Graaff, 1st Baronet, Sir David ...

, leader of the United Party. He joined Anglo American in 1949 and became the private secretary of

Harry Oppenheimer Harry Frederick Oppenheimer OMSG (28 October 1908 – 19 August 2000) was a prominent South African businessman, industrialist and philanthropist. Oppenheimer was often ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world, and was considered S ...

and later of

Ernest Oppenheimer Sir Ernest Oppenheimer (22 May 1880 – 25 November 1957) was a South African diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers and founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa. Career Ern ...

. He would later develop the company's gold mines in the Free State and oversaw the creation of Highveld Steel and Vanadium. He became chairman of Anglo American in 1983. He led a group of South African businessmen who met with the banned

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 ...

's representative

Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and activist who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Childhood Oliver Tambo was ...

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

in 1985, resisting the pressures from the then South African government under

State President of South Africa The State President of the Republic of South Africa () was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country 1960 South African republic referendum, became a republic on 31 May 1961, outside the ...

P.W. Botha. He was succeeded by

Julian Ogilvie Thompson Julian Ogilvie Thompson (27 January 1934 – 11 August 2023) was a South African businessman who was chairman of De Beers and the Anglo American mining company. Early life Julian Ogilvie Thompson was born on 27 January 1934 in Cape Town, the ...

in 1990.

Death

Relly died of complications from cardiac surgery and was survived by his wife Jane, and children Janis, Georgina and Giles.

References

Profiles of Anglo American chief executivesEx-Anglo chairman Gavin Relly dies
1926 births 1999 deaths Alumni of Diocesan College, Cape Town 20th-century South African businesspeople Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford South African people of British descent {{SouthAfrica-business-bio-stub