- Kader Asmal
Infobox Politician
name = Kader Asmal
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office = Minister of Education
term_start = 1999
term_end = 2004
predecessor =Sibusiso Bengu
successor =Naledi Pandor
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majority =
office2 =Member of Parliament
term_start2 = 1994
term_end2 =
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office3 = Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry
term_start3 = 1994
term_end3 = 1999
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majority3 =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1934|10|8|mf=y
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party =African National Congress
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footnotes =Kader Asmal (born
8 October 1934 ) is aSouth Africa npolitician . He was a professor of human rights at theUniversity of the Western Cape , chairman of the council of theUniversity of the North and vice-president of theAfrican Association of International Law . He is married to Louise Parkinson and has two sons. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.Early life
Kader grew up in
Stanger ,KwaZulu-Natal and while still a school-boy he met with ChiefAlbert Luthuli who inspired him towards human rights. In 1959, Kader qualified as ateacher , moved toLondon where he enrolled at the London School of Economics and Political Science.Legal career
While in London he started the
British Anti-Apartheid Movement and when he joined the Trinity College,Dublin ,Ireland as a teacher of human rights, labour and international law, he started theIrish Anti-Apartheid Movement . Kader qualified as abarrister in both the London and Dublin Bars and received degrees from both the London School of Economics (LL.M. (Lond.)) and Trinity College, Dublin (M.A. (Dubl.)). He was a law professor at Trinity College for 27 years, specializing in human rights, labor, and international law. In 1983, he was awarded the Prix Unesco for his involvement in the international inquiries into human rights violations. Kader served on theAfrican National Congress ' constitutional committee from 1986.Political career
In 1990, Asmal returned to South Africa and shortly afterwards was elected to the African National Congress' National Executive Committee. In 1993, he served as a member of the negotiating team of the African National Congress at the Multiparty Negotiating Forum. In May 1994, he was elected to the National Assembly, and joined the cabinet as Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry.
In 1996, the
World Wide Fund for Nature -South Africa awarded Asmal their Gold Medal for his conservation work. During his tenure he supported theGlobal Water Partnership (GWP) . As Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry he spearheaded the recognition of the concept of "the environment as a prime water user." [http://web.archive.org/web/20050208084216/dams.org/news_events/press282.htm (24 September 1997) "South African Water Minister to Head New World Commission on Dams"] World Commission on Dams] While serving as Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, he also served as the chairman of the World Commission on Dams (1997-2001).In 1999, after the South African general elections, he became
Minister of Education . [ [http://chronicle.com/weekly/v45/i44/44a04501.htm Vergnani, Linda (9 July 1999) "Education Minister in South Africa Seeks Better Training for Aspiring Teachers"] "Chronicle of Higher Education" 45(44) p. A45] Among his initiatives as Minister of Education was the launching in 2001 of theSouth African History Project "to promote and enhance the conditions and status of the learning and teaching of history in the South African schooling system, with the goal of restoring its material position and intellectual purchase in the classroom". [ [http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2001/0108281145a1002.htm "Speech by the Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal, at the launch of the South African History Project"] , Old Fort, Johannesburg, 27 August 2001]On
5 October ,2007 , he severely criticisedRobert Mugabe for the situation inZimbabwe , lamenting that he had not spoken previously, at the launch of a book "Through the Darkness — A Life in Zimbabwe", byJudith Todd , daughter of former Southern Rhodesia prime ministerGarfield Todd , an opponent of white minority rule underIan Smith . [ [http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A579833 Asmal breaks ANC ranks on Zimbabwe] Business Day]References
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