Lucas Cornelius Steyn, PC, QC (21 December 1903 – 28 July 1976) was

Chief Justice of South Africa The chief justice of South Africa is the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court and head of the judiciary of South Africa, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the courts. The position of chief justic ...

and, as such, acted as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

on two occasions.

Early life

Steyn was born in 1903 on a farm in the

Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...

, shortly after it had fallen under British rule during the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. His parents were Christiaan Louwrens Steyn and Magdalena Josina Maria Kruger. He attended Kroonstad Secondary School and graduated with a law degree from the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

in 1926, was admitted as an advocate (the South African equivalent of a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

) in 1928, and obtained a doctorate in law in 1929.

Legal career

There followed an illustrious career as a civil servant under four successive Prime Ministers. He was Attorney-General of

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

, which was then under South African administration, from 1931 to 1933, and worked in the Department of Justice from 1933 to 1944. He was appointed a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1943. He assisted the South African delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

from 1946 to 1949, and was a legal adviser in the 1950

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

hearing into South Africa's refusal to give up

. Steyn was appointed a judge of the High Court (

Transvaal Provincial Division The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, ...

) in 1951. Shortly thereafter, in 1955, he was promoted to the Appellate Division. And soon after that he was appointed Chief Justice, ahead of the noted liberal judge of many years' appellate experience,

Oliver Schreiner Oliver Deneys Schreiner MC KC (29 December 1890 – 27 July 1980), was a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa. One of the most renowned South African judges, he was passed over twice for the position of Chief Ju ...

. This unprecedentedly rapid ascent reflected Steyn's favour with

D. F. Malan Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South Africa, South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party (South Africa), National Party impleme ...

's Afrikaner nationalist administration. As Chief Justice, Steyn acted ''ex officio'' as

Officer Administering the Government An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fr ...

, i.e. acting Governor-General under a

dormant commission A dormant commission is a commission in a Commonwealth realm that lies dormant or sleeping until a particular event triggers it. A commission in this case means an appointment to a particular government office, which the reigning monarch of the ...

, for the period between the death of Dr Jansen in 1959 and the installation of C.R. Swart in 1960, and again between Swart's resignation as the last Governor-General in 1961 and his inauguration as the first

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 ...

a few weeks later. It was he who administered the oaths of office to Swart on both occasions. Steyn's tenure as Chief Justice lasted twelve years. True to his appointment by an Afrikaner nationalist government, Steyn's jurisprudence was executive-minded and critical of English influences on South African law. He retired from the bench in 1971.

Personal life

Steyn married Huibrecht van Schoor in 1928. They had two children. He died in 1976.

References and Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steyn, Lucas Cornelius 1903 births 1976 deaths 20th-century South African judges 20th-century South African lawyers Afrikaner people Chief justices of South Africa Governors-general of South Africa South African members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 20th-century King's Counsel South African people of Dutch descent South African Queen's Counsel