Ernest Frederick Watermeyer, PC, QC (12 October 1880 – 18 January 1958), was the

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

from 1943 to 1950. Watermeyer was born in Graaff-Reinet in 1880. He was educated at Stellenbosch Gymnasium, Bath College and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

, where he read Mathematics, then Law. He was called to the bar in England by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1904, and admitted to the Cape bar in 1905. He became a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1921. From 1922 to 1937, he was a judge of the

Cape Provincial Division The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Cape Provincial Division and the Western Cape High Court, and commonly known as the Cape High Court) is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over th ...

of the

Supreme Court of South Africa The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1997. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was t ...

. In 1937, he was promoted to the Supreme Court's Appellate Division. In 1943, he was appointed Chief Justice of South Africa and was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

the same year, the last Chief Justice of South Africa to be made a Privy Counsellor. He served as Officer Administering the Government of the Union of South Africa in 1950, and retired the same year.

References

Chief justices of South Africa 1880 births 1958 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge South African members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Inner Temple South African Queen's Counsel South African judges {{SouthAfrica-law-bio-stub