Abdullah Mohamed Omar (26 May 1934 – 13 March 2004), better known as Dullah Omar, was a South African anti-

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

activist, lawyer, and a minister in the South African

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

from 1994 until his death.

Early life and education

Born in

Observatory, Cape Town Observatory is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa, colloquially known as Obs. Bordered by Mowbray to the south and Salt River to the northwest, the area is best known as a student neighbourhood associated with the nearby University of Cape T ...

, to immigrant parents from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Omar attended

Trafalgar High School , motto_translation = As much as I am able , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational secondary day school , pushpin_map = Australia Victoria , pushpin_image = , pushpin_mapsize = 240 ...

in Cape Town.City School turns 100
iol.co.za, January 2012, retrieved 11 August 2014 He was a respected member of the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

community. He attended the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

and graduated with a law degree in 1957.

Anti-apartheid activities

He defended members of the

Pan Africanist Congress The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (known as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)) is a South African national liberation Pan-Africanist movement that is now a political party. It was founded by an Africanist group, led by Robert Sobukwe, that ...

(PAC) and

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

(ANC), was a member of the ''Unity Movement'' throughout the Early 70's and 80's before he joined and became a leading member of the United Democratic Front and was a

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

activist throughout his life. His movement was generally restricted by "banning orders" and he was detained without trial repeatedly, he also survived plots by the apartheid government to assassinate him. In 1989, he became a spokesman of Nelson Mandela, during the last months of the latter's imprisonment.

Government minister

In 1994, Omar became

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in South Africa in Nelson Mandela's ANC government, and was the first cabinet minister appointed Acting President in the absence of both the

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 ...

and Deputy President from South Africa. He played a major role in transforming the South African justice system. One of his principal actions was the promulgation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in July 1995 to look into the crimes committed during apartheid and offer platforms for victims and/or their families to confront the perpetrators, who would in turn be offered amnesty for coming forward. The model served as an inspiration for other post-conflict societies in places such as Sierra Leonne and Rwanda. In 1999, following the election of

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

as President, Omar became the

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

, a post that he held until his death from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. Of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

descent and a lifelong resident 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 ...

, he was married with three children, and was buried with official honours, and in accordance with Muslim tradition on the day of his death.

References

External links

A biography of Dullah Omar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omar, Dullah 1934 births 2004 deaths South African democracy activists South African people of Indian descent South African Muslims South African politicians of Indian descent University of Cape Town alumni Deaths from cancer in South Africa African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Justice ministers of South Africa South African people of Gujarati descent Alumni of Trafalgar High School (Cape Town) Members of the Order of Luthuli