Lucas Cornelius Steyn, PC, QC (21 December 1903 – 28 July 1976) was

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

and, as such, acted as Governor-General on two occasions.

Early life

Steyn was born in 1903 on a farm in the

Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...

, shortly after it had fallen under British rule during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. His parents were Christiaan Louwrens Steyn and Magdalena Josina Maria Kruger. He attended Kroonstad Secondary School and graduated with a law degree from the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

in 1926, was admitted as an advocate (the South African equivalent of a barrister) in 1928, and obtained a doctorate in law in 1929.

Legal career

There followed an illustrious career as a civil servant under four successive Prime Ministers. He was Attorney-General of

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

, which was then under South African administration, from 1931 to 1933, and worked in the Department of Justice from 1933 to 1944. He was appointed a King's Counsel in 1943. He assisted the South African delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

from 1946 to 1949, and was a legal adviser in the 1950

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

hearing into South Africa's refusal to give up

. Steyn was appointed a judge of the High Court (

Transvaal Provincial Division The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, ...

) in 1951. Shortly thereafter, in 1955, he was promoted to the Appellate Division. And soon after that he was appointed Chief Justice, ahead of the noted liberal judge of many years' appellate experience, Oliver Schreiner. This unprecedentedly rapid ascent reflected Steyn's favour with D F Malan's

Afrikaner nationalist Afrikaner nationalism ( af, Afrikanernasionalisme) is a nationalistic political ideology which created by Afrikaners residing in Southern Africa during the Victorian era. The ideology was developed in response to the significant events in Afrik ...

administration. As Chief Justice, Steyn acted ''ex officio'' as

Officer Administering the Government An administrator (administrator of the government or officer administering the government) in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general. ...

, i.e. acting Governor-General under a

dormant commission A dormant commission is a commission in a Commonwealth realm that lies dormant or sleeping until it is triggered by a particular event. Historically, a dormant commission was given in relation to a military command. During the Crimean War, Sir ...

, for the period between the death of Dr Jansen in 1959 and the installation of C.R. Swart in 1960, and again between Swart's resignation as the last Governor-General in 1961 and his inauguration as the first State President of South Africa a few weeks later. It was he who administered the oaths of office to Swart on both occasions. Steyn's tenure as Chief Justice lasted twelve years. True to his appointment by an Afrikaner nationalist government, Steyn's jurisprudence was executive-minded and critical of English influences on South African law. He retired from the bench in 1971.

Personal life

Steyn married Huibrecht van Schoor in 1928. They had two children. He died in 1976.

References and Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steyn, Lucas Cornelius 1903 births 1976 deaths 20th-century South African judges 20th-century South African lawyers Afrikaner people Chief justices of South Africa Governors-General of South Africa South African members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 20th-century King's Counsel South African people of Dutch descent South African Queen's Counsel