Leon Markowitz (1937 – 16 July 2005) was a South African politician and hotelier, he served as Mayor of Cape Town between 1985 and 1987. In the 1990s he was the National Party leader in the council. He subsequently served as Finance Minister of the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

and as a fundraiser for the Democratic Alliance (DA). As mayor in 1986, he was the senior official present at

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

's installation as the first black Archbishop to lead the

Anglican Church of Southern Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province (Anglican), province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of whi ...

. He also operated a hospitality business and owned the Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He was also a benefactor of Jewish organisations and causes such as the

Cape Town Holocaust Centre The Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre began as Africa's first Holocaust centre founded in 1999. The Centre works towards creating a more caring and just society in which human rights and diversity are respected and valued. Through exhibitions ...

.Annual Review 2012
South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation. 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markovitz, Leon 2005 deaths 20th-century South African politicians 21st-century South African politicians Politicians from Cape Town White South African people Jewish South African politicians Mayors of Cape Town Members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament South African businesspeople Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians National Party (South Africa) politicians 1937 births