Radclyffe Macbeth Cadman (14 January 1924 – 11 October 2011) was a South African
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gover ...
for the electoral divisions of Zululand (1961-66, 1970-74) and Umhlatuzana (1974-77), and who led its successor, the New Republic Party, in the 1977 election. The election saw the party lose 13 of 23 seats it held at the dissolution (and 31 of 41 seats won in the 1974 election), including his own between the predominant National Party and the growing
Progressive Federal Party
The Progressive Federal Party (PFP) ( af, Progressiewe Federale Party) was a South African political party formed in 1977 through merger of the Progressive and Reform parties, eventually changing its name to the Progressive Federal Party. For it ...
, which overtook its strength outside Natal and, with a total of 17 seats, the role as official opposition.
During World War II he served as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy. After the war he completed a BA at the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
. He was awarded a scholarship to read law at
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...
, qualifying as BA and LL.B in 1950 and MA (Cantab) in 1955.
President P W Botha awarded Cadman the
Order for Meritorious Service
The Order for Meritorious Service is a South African National Order that consisted of two classes, in gold and silver, and was awarded to deserving South African citizens. The order was discontinued on 2 December 2002.
Cadman was married to Natalie Randles- a descendant of
James Rorke
James "Jem" Rourke (1827- 24 October 1875) was a settler and trader of Irish-descent in southern Africa. He served as a civilian in the British Army commissariat in 1846 during the Seventh Xhosa War. In 1849 Rorke purchased a farmstead in the Co ...
, who established the trading post
Rorke's Drift
The Battle of Rorke's Drift (1879), also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the ...
- in 1957 and they had 3 children. In 1984 he became the government's administrator in
Natal Province
The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into ...