Leona Valerie Theron (born 7 November 1966 in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

) is a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

on the

Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme court, supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was fi ...

and formerly of the Supreme Court of Appeal. She was first appointed to the bench in 1999, aged 33, becoming the first black woman judge on the KwaZulu-Natal High Court. She was appointed to the Constitutional Court on 1 July 2017 by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

to replace recently retired

Johann van der Westhuizen Johann van der Westhuizen (born 26 May 1952 in Windhoek, South West Africa (now Namibia) is a former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Before his judicial appointment, he was a professor at the University of Pretoria Faculty of ...

. Theron is married to Charles Sarjoo and has four children.

Education

She received her Bachelor's Degree from University of Natal in 1987. Theron went on to receive her LLB (Bachelors of Law) from there in 1989. In 1989, she received a Fulbright Scholarship that allowed her to go on to get her LLM (Masters of Law) at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Professional history

Early in her career, Theron was an advocate in her hometown of Durban. From 1983 to June 1989, while receiving her bachelor's and LLB, she worked as a candidate attorney at Dawson & Partners in Durban. From February to June 1989, she was also an Adjunct Lecturer at Mangosuthu Technikon, Umlazi. Following her move to Washington, DC to study at Georgetown, she worked at the International Labor Organization as Special Assistant to the Director, until June 1990 when she became a Summer Associate at the Occupational Safety and Health Law Centre. From 1990 to 1995, before being appointed to the Judge White Commission, she served as an Advocate of the High Court for Kwa-Zulu Natal, a Summer Associate act Reich, Adell & Crost Law Offices, a Trainer at the Community Law Centre, a part time Lecturer at the University of Natal, and then as a Provincial Adjudication Secretary at the Independent Electoral Commission. She was appointed to the Judge White Commission by President Mandela in 1995. Then, in 1999, she was appointed to the High Court of South Africa, making her the youngest judge in the country at 32 years old and also making her the first black female judge in her province.

References

1966 births Living people South African judges South African women judges Judges of the Constitutional Court of South Africa {{SouthAfrica-law-bio-stub