Jules Browde (1919 – 31 May 2016) was a South African advocate and acting judge as well as a human-rights activist and Jewish communal leader. He was a classmate of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

's and a founder member of Lawyers for Human Rights.

Career

Browde graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

(Wits) and then joined the Union Defence Force in the early part of the Second World War. At the end of the war, he returned to Wits to continue his education; during that time, he became friends with Nelson Mandela, a fellow law student. In 1996, two years after South Africa's first democratic elections, Mandela appointed Browde to investigate irregularities in the appointment of various civil servants. In 1969, Browde had been made a silk, or senior counsel, and went on to serve as an acting judge in South Africa as well as judge on the appeal courts of

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

and

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

. He chaired the Johannesburg Bar Council on several occasions.

Awards and other activities

In July 2008, Browde's service was acknowledged with the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Felicia Kentridge Felicia, Lady Kentridge (née Geffen; 7 August 1930 – 7 June 2015) was a South African lawyer and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who co-founded the South African Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in 1979. The LRC represen ...

Award. The award is made by the South African Bar Council for excellence in public interest law. In 2011, the SA Jewish Report recognized Browde and his wife Professor Selma Browde with the

Helen Suzman Helen Suzman, OMSG, DBE (née Gavronsky; 7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. She represented a series of liberal and centre-left opposition parties during her 36-year tenure in th ...

Lifetime Achievement Award. Browde served as national president of the Habonim youth movement for 25 years. In 2005, he planted a tree to mark the 70th Habonim reunion while in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

during his last visit to that country.

Personal life

Jules Browde was married to professor Selma Browde, a renowned senior radiation oncologist at Wits and the Johannesburg group of hospitals. The couple were married for nearly 70 years and had three sons: Ian, Alan, and Paul.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browde, Jules 1919 births 2016 deaths 20th-century South African judges South African human rights activists South African Jews People from Johannesburg University of the Witwatersrand alumni Place of birth missing South African Senior Counsel