The Helen Suzman Foundation is an independent, non-partisan think tank in

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 ...

dedicated to promoting

liberal democratic Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal democracy are: ...

values and

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

in post-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

South Africa through its research, publications, litigation and submissions to the

South African Parliament The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town; the country's legislative capital. Under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Asse ...

. The foundation was established in honour of

Helen Suzman Helen Suzman, Order for Meritorious Service, OMSG, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE (née Gavronsky; 7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and p ...

, a long-time liberal opposition MP who opposed apartheid in the

South African parliament The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town; the country's legislative capital. Under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Asse ...

and the foundation's

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

. Its liberalism is grounded in Helen’s legacy, and draws from the history of liberal thought in South Africa. The foundation believes that the

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the human rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of t ...

is a liberal document. In its preamble the Constitution calls for “a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights”, which aims to “free the potential of each person” and where “every citizen is equally protected by law”. The foundation publishes opinion pieces on its website, in a quarterly electronic magazine, ''Focus'', and via email. Academic R. W. Johnson was the foundation's first director until he resigned in 1995. Johnson's successor at the foundation, Lawrence Schlemmer, In 2006, Raenette Taljaard succeeded Schlemmer to become the foundation's director."Former MP to head Suzman Foundation", ''South African Press Association'', 11 April 2006 She, in turn, was succeeded by Francis Antonie in 2010. Francis Antonie served as director from 2010 until he was replaced by Nicole Fritz, who took over the reins in 2022. Nicole Fritz resigned in December 2023. Naseema Fakir is currently the Executive Director.

References

Think tanks based in South Africa Foundations based in South Africa Civic and political organisations based in Johannesburg {{SouthAfrica-org-stub