Leon Wessels (born 19 April 1946) is a South African lawyer, politician, and activist who served in the National Party government during the

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 ...

years and was one of very few

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

politicians to show public contrition for the acts of that government.

Education

Like FW de Klerk he attended ''Hoërskool Monument'' in

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius and Abner Cohen. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a ...

, South Africa. After matriculating from that school in 1963 Wessels went on to obtain amongst others the

Bachelor of Law 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 ...

(LLB) degree from the

Potchefstroom University The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (abbreviated as PU for CHE) was a South African university located in Potchefstroom. Instruction was mainly in Afrikaans language, Afrikaans. In 2004, the university was merged with othe ...

in 1972 and in 2001 the

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(LLD) degree from the Rand Afrikaans University. While an undergraduate he was chairman of Potchefstroom's Students' Representative Council (SRC) and from 1971 to 1973 president of the ''Afrikaner Studentebond'' (ASB) a student organisation in which many white leaders served their political apprenticeships.

Apartheid-era politician

Wessels entered national politics in 1977 when he was elected National Party member of parliament (MP) for the Krugersdorp constituency, an Afrikaner stronghold. Though increasingly identified as a ''verligte'' (a member of the party's more liberal wing) over the next two decades he rose through party ranks to become a Cabinet member, ending this chapter of his political career in the last apartheid administration as Minister of Local Government, National Housing and Manpower.

After apartheid

At the hearings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission into illegal acts of the country's security forces, Wessels – a former Deputy Law and Order Minister – acknowledged: "I do not believe the political defence of 'I did not know' is available to me because in many respects I believe I did not want to know." In 1999 he was appointed to the South African Human Rights Commission where he was responsible for monitoring the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000, a law central to ensuring transparency in government, business and civil society.

Personal life

His wife, Tersia Wessels became a member of the Gauteng provincial legislature representing the Congress of the People in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wessels, Leon Political office-holders in South Africa Living people People from Krugersdorp National Party (South Africa) politicians Afrikaner people 1946 births Government ministers of South Africa Former white supremacists Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1994–1999 Rand Afrikaans University alumni