Mudene "Dene" Smuts (13 July 1949 – 21 April 2016) was a South African politician. She was a member of
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
for the
Democratic Alliance, serving in various capacities, including as
Shadow Minister of
Justice and Constitutional Development.
Early life
Smuts was born and raised in
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...
, in the
Free State,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, and attended Oranje Meisieskool.
After high school, she continued her academic journey graduating from
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) 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 ...
with a BA Hons degree.
Smuts was editor of
Fair Lady magazine, managing editor of ''Leadership'', and was a prize-winning author.
Political career
A staunch
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
who valued individual freedom and the
consent of the governed
In political philosophy, the phrase consent of the governed refers to the idea that a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is justified and lawful only when consented to by the people or society over which that political powe ...
.
Smuts was Broadcasting and Telecoms spokesperson for both the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
(DP) and
Democratic Alliance (DA) from 1994 and 1996 respectively and specialised in free speech issues
Smuts launched her political career in 1989 when she was elected MP for the five-month old Democratic Party for the Groote Schuur constituency, and on 6 September that year, she participated in the great
Peace March in Cape Town, a seminal date in that it coincided with her swearing in as an MP.
Smuts served as a constitutional negotiator for the DP during the transition from Apartheid to democracy. The process started with President
FW de Klerk
Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South A ...
's 1990 Opening of Parliament speech. Smuts participated from that day until its conclusion in 1996 specialising in the drafting of the Bill of Rights for the Final Constitution.
She also served as the DP spokesperson on the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...
, the Constitution
and human rights.
In 1992, Smuts became South Africa’s first female whip in Parliament and served as DP party chairperson from 1994 to 1997.
Smuts served on the special committee on the controversial
Protection of State Information Bill
The South African Protection of State Information Bill, formerly named the Protection of Information Bill and commonly referred to as the Secrecy Bill, is a highly controversial piece of proposed legislation which aims to regulate the, protect ...
also known as the Secrecy Bill, opposing clauses which literally made everything, including corporate information, a state secret and which would have made it an offense for journalists to publish any information not vetted by the state.
Smuts served the DA as Shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Personal life
Smuts had two children.
Death and legacy
Smuts died on 21 April 2016 in Cape Town. Announcing her death, the DA described her as "a great parliamentarian and defender of the Constitution".
Her memoir,
Patriots & Parasites: South Africa and the Struggle to Evade History' was completed just days before her death. The book, a political analysis of the period known as the Transition Era, was posthumously published by Quivertree in 2016.
Smuts's legacy is honoured through the Dene Smuts Memorial Scholarship Fund, established at Stellenbosch University for the study of human rights and Constitutional Law.
At her public memorial at Parliament's Old Assembly chamber, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane remembered her with these words: 'Dene said that every one of us needs to be accountable to our conscience, to our country, to our Constitution and to our constituency. I would be brave enough to say that no one South African held up to these standards as much as she did.'
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smuts, Dene
1949 births
2016 deaths
People from Bloemfontein
Afrikaner people
South African people of Dutch descent
Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians
Members of the National Assembly of South Africa
South African editors
South African women editors
Stellenbosch University alumni
South African libertarians