Leo Solomon Baron (13 October 1916 – 22 October 1985) was a British lawyer,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

officer and

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...

player who practised law in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...

(today Zimbabwe) during the 1950s and 1960s, sat on the

Supreme Court of Zambia Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown- ...

during the 1970s, and briefly served as Acting Chief Justice of Zimbabwe in 1983.

Biography

Baron was born in

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the S ...

in eastern Germany, the brother of the historian and scientist

Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He was known to friends and professional colleagues alike by the nickname Bruno. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to sc ...

, and raised in Britain. He read law at King's College London. A

champion, he developed, with

Adam Meredith Adam Theodore "Plum" Meredith (16 June 1913 – 30 January 1976) was a British professional bridge player and world tournament champion.Truscott (1976) Early life Meredith was born in Bangor, County Down, Ireland, (now Northern Ireland), to H ...

, the Baron System of bidding during the 1940s. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Baron was a squadron leader in the

, and was stationed in

. He settled there after the war and in 1952 set up a law practice in the self-governing colony's second city,

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...

. His clients over the next decade and a half included the prominent black nationalist

Joshua Nkomo Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (19 June 1917 – 1 July 1999) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and Matabeleland politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's ...

. When

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1 ...

's government unilaterally declared independence on 11 November 1965, Baron, who challenged the Smith administration's legality, was arrested and kept in solitary confinement until April 1967. He returned to Britain following his release. During the 1970s he returned to Africa to become Deputy Chief Justice of Zambia. While on Zambia's Supreme Court he decided the controversial case ''Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula'', which ruled that the Supreme Court could not prevent the "likely" violation of Zambia's constitution. Baron was a legal adviser to black nationalist negotiators in the negotiations leading to the

Lancaster House Agreement The Lancaster House Agreement, signed on 21 December 1979, declared a ceasefire, ending the Rhodesian Bush War; and directly led to Rhodesia achieving internationally recognised independence as Zimbabwe. It required the full resumption of di ...

of December 1979, which led to the internationally recognised independence of Zimbabwe the following year. In 1980, he was appointed on a three-year contract to the Appellate Division of the High Court of Zimbabwe. He was appointed Acting Chief Justice of Zimbabwe in 1983, but retired shortly afterwards, citing his health. He died in the Zimbabwean capital

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

on 22 October 1985.

Publications

* ''Contract Bridge: the Baron system outlined'', Baron and

(London: Nicholson & Watson, 1946), 32 pp. * ''The Baron System of Contract Bridge'', Baron and Meredith (Leeds: Contract Bridge Equipment Ltd, 1948), 180 pp.

References

External links

''The New York Times'' archive search
– payment required, 1923 to 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baron, Leo 1916 births 1985 deaths Alumni of King's College London British and Irish contract bridge players Royal Air Force squadron leaders British emigrants to Rhodesia British expatriates in Zambia Judges of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe People from Bulawayo People from Plauen Rhodesian lawyers British judges on the courts of Zambia British judges on the courts of Zimbabwe British people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Rhodesia White Rhodesian people 20th-century Zimbabwean judges Royal Air Force personnel of World War II

Biography

Publications

References

Further reading

External links