Julian MacDonald Greenfield, CMG (Julius in some sources; 13 July 1907 – 1993) was a South Rhodesian lawyer, politician, and judge who held office in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

and within the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (CAF), was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southern ...

Biography

Born in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the son of a Canadian-born Presbyterian minister, Greenfield moved with his family to Southern Rhodesia in 1909. He was educated at Milton School, the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

, where he read law, and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, where he was a

Rhodes scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

and graduated BA and BCL. He was also admitted as a student to

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. Returning to Rhodesia, Greenfield was called to the bar and began private practice as a barrister in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

. He became involved with the new United Party, and in 1948 was elected for Hillside. In 1949, he became a KC. In 1950, he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Justice. A strong supporter of the formation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, he was nominated for the leadership of the United Party, which carried with it succession to Sir Godfrey Huggins as prime minister of Southern Rhodesia. In the first round, he and

Garfield Todd Sir Reginald Stephen Garfield Todd (13 July 1908 – 13 October 2002) was a liberal Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1953 to 1958 and later became an opponent of white minority rule in Rhodesia. Background Todd was born in Invercargill ...

tied, and

Humphrey Gibbs Sir Humphrey Vicary Gibbs, (22 November 19025 November 1990), was the penultimate Governor of the colony of Southern Rhodesia, from 24 October 1964 described by its internationally unrecognised government simply as Rhodesia, who served until, ...

gave his

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

to Greenfield, who showed reluctance to accept the decision. A second vote was later taken, and Todd defeated Greenfield. In his memoirs, Greenfield claimed he had always meant to enter Federal politics and supported Todd, but had allowed his name to go forward to test Todd's acceptability to the party. After serving under Todd during a transition phase, Greenfield served as the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland's Minister of Education and Minister of Home Affairs, then Minister of Law. After the dissolution of the Federation, Greenfield return to legal practice. He opposed Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence. In 1968, he became a judge on the Appellate Division of the High Court of Rhodesia, in succession to Sir John Fieldsend. He retired in 1974.

Assessments

Lord Blake described Greenfield as "cautious, clear-headed, capable".

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...

described him as "having a good reputation practising as an advocate at our bar, and as a cabinet minister his performance was immaculate", but claimed that "he was such a quiet, retiring person that he never came up for consideration as a leader" when Higgins retired as federal prime minister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenfield, Julian 1907 births 1993 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George British emigrants to Zimbabwe Rhodesian judges Rhodesian politicians Members of the Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federal Assembly King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel University of Cape Town alumni Alumni of University College, Oxford Rhodes Scholars