biography
| name: |
Suzman, Helen
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| |
née Gavronsky
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| sex:
| female
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| lived:
| (1917– )
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| biography:
| South African politician, born in Germiston, Transvaal, NE South Africa. She studied at Witwatersrand University, then became a lecturer there (1944–52). Deeply concerned about the apartheid system erected by the National Party under Daniel Malan, she joined the Opposition, and was elected to parliament in 1953. She gradually gained the respect of the black community and, for years the sole MP of the Progressive Party, proved to be a fierce opponent of apartheid. In 1978 she received the UN Human Rights Award, and later served as president of the South African Institute of Race Relations (1991–3). She is a trustee of the Helen Suzman Foundation, which seeks to promote liberal democracy in southern Africa. |
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