Helen Suzman
Helen Gavronsky was born in Germiston in 1917. She became one of South Africa's most famous white parliamentarians and fighters for human rights. In 1937 she married Dr. Moses Suzman and together they had two daughters. In 1944 she started lecturing in Economic History at the University of Witwatersrand, but then entered politics when she represented the United Party (UP) in Parliament in 1953. Six years later she founded the Progressive Party (PP) and became its sole representative in Parliament. During her 36 years in Parliament she defended the right to freedom of expression for all South Africans; with great courage she used every opportunity to speak out against discriminatory legislation.
In 1974 six colleagues joined Helen in Parliament. As a Member of Parliament she was able to visit prisons, among them Robben Island, where she inspected the living conditions of prisoners.
In 1989 Helen Suzman retired from active politics. In the course of her career the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard have awarded her honorary doctorates. Her struggle against apartheid won her the United Nations Human Rights Award in 1978 and in 1980, the Medallion of Heroism. The Helen Suzman Foundation was been established to promote liberal democracy in South Africa.
Helen Suzman
SAHO biography
