Gert Benjamin Myburgh (13 January 1940 – 11 March 1996) was a South African lawyer and politician from the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

. He served as Deputy Minister of Justice from January 1995 until his death in March 1996. He had formerly served as Deputy Minister of Law and Order from 1992 to 1994 and was a long-serving representative of the

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 ...

(NP) in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. A lawyer by profession, Myburgh first served in Parliament from 1977 to 1981 as the representative for

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. He returned to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

to represent a

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

constituency from 1987 to 1994, and during that time he was appointed to

F. W. de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk ( , ; 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as the seventh and final state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as Deputy President of South Africa, deputy president a ...

's government as Deputy Minister of Law and Order. After the abolition of apartheid in 1994, he continued as an ordinary Member of Parliament, now in the multi-racial

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, until 1995, when he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Justice in the

Government of National Unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

Early life and career

Myburgh was born on 13 January 1940 in

Somerset East Somerset East () (renamed KwaNojoli in 2023) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 (South Afri ...

. After matriculating at the Hoërskool Brandwag in

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

in 1957, he began work as a civil servant in local government, first in Uitenhage and then in

. At the same time, he studied 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 ...

, completing a BA in 1969 and an

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1974. He completed his legal clerkship at Burman, Blumberg and Saks in Port Elizabeth and was admitted as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

of the

Bar in 1975.

Legislative career

House of Assembly: 1977–1994

Myburgh was first elected to the

in 1977 as the NP's representative in

. He left his seat in 1981, but returned in the 1987 general election, now for the Port Elizabeth North constituency. In 1989, he was appointed to chair

's Joint Committee on Justice. During the same period, he was also a member of the NP's delegation to the

negotiations to end apartheid The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

, and he served on working group 1 at the

Convention for a Democratic South Africa The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

. On 17 August 1992, President

appointed Myburgh as Deputy Minister of Law and Order. He held that position until the apartheid government was replaced in 1994.

National Assembly: 1994–1996

In the 1994 general election, South Africa's first under universal suffrage, Myburgh was elected to represent the NP in the new multi-racial

, serving the Eastern Cape constituency. In addition, a short while into the legislative term, President

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

appointed him to deputise

Dullah Omar Abdullah Mohamed Omar OLS (26 May 1934 – 13 March 2004), better known as Dullah Omar, was a South African anti-Apartheid activist, lawyer, and a minister in the South African cabinet from 1994 until his death. Early life and education B ...

as Deputy Minister of Justice in the

. He took office on 13 January 1995, replacing Chris Fismer.

Personal life and death

Having recovered from

triple bypass surgery Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage"), is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest p ...

, Myburgh died unexpectedly on 11 March 1996 after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at his office in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. Sheila Camerer succeeded him as Deputy Minister of Justice. He was married to Annetjie Myburgh, with whom he had two daughters.

References

1940 births 1996 deaths People from Somerset East Politicians from the Eastern Cape University of South Africa alumni 20th-century South African lawyers National Party (South Africa) politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1994–1999 Members of the House of Assembly (South Africa) {{DEFAULTSORT:Myburgh, Gert