Jules Browde (1919 – 31 May 2016) was a South African advocate and acting judge as well as a human-rights activist and Jewish communal leader. He was a classmate of

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 ...

's and a founder member of Lawyers for Human Rights.

Career

Browde graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

(Wits) and then joined the Union Defence Force in the early part of the Second World War. At the end of the war, he returned to Wits to continue his education; during that time, he became friends with Nelson Mandela, a fellow law student. In 1996, two years after South Africa's first democratic elections, Mandela appointed Browde to investigate irregularities in the appointment of various civil servants. In 1969, Browde had been made a silk, or senior counsel, and went on to serve as an acting judge in South Africa as well as judge on the appeal courts of

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

and

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

. He chaired the Johannesburg Bar Council on several occasions.

Awards and other activities

In July 2008, Browde's service was acknowledged with the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and Felicia Kentridge Award. The award is made by the South African Bar Council for excellence in public interest law. In 2011, the SA Jewish Report recognized Browde and his wife Professor Selma Browde with the

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 ...

Lifetime Achievement Award. Browde served as national president of the Habonim youth movement for 25 years. In 2005, he planted a tree to mark the 70th Habonim reunion while in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

during his last visit to that country.

Personal life

Jules Browde was married to professor Selma Browde, a renowned senior radiation oncologist at Wits and the Johannesburg group of hospitals. The couple were married for nearly 70 years and had three sons: Ian, Alan, and Paul.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browde, Jules 1919 births 2016 deaths 20th-century South African judges South African human rights activists South African Jews Activists from Johannesburg Lawyers from Johannesburg University of the Witwatersrand alumni Place of birth missing South African Senior Counsel