Kader Asmal
| Kader Asmal | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Education | |
|
In office 1999–2004 |
|
| President | Thabo Mbeki |
| Preceded by | Sibusiso Bengu |
| Succeeded by | Naledi Pandor |
| Member of Parliament | |
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In office 1994 – 2008 |
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| Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry | |
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In office 1994–1999 |
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| President | Nelson Mandela |
| Succeeded by | Ronnie Kasrils |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 October 1934 |
| Died | 22 June 2011 (aged 76) |
| Political party | African National Congress |
Abdul Kader Asmal (8 October 1934 – 22 June 2011) was a South African politician. He was a professor of human rights at the University of the Western Cape, chairman of the council of the University of the North and vice-president of the African Association of International Law. He was married to Louise Parkinson and has two sons. He was an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, received a doctorate Honoris Causa from Queen's University Belfast (1996) and was a laureate of the 2000 . He died 22 June 2011 after suffering a heart attack.
Asmal grew up in Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal, the son of an Indian shopkeeper and one of seven children. While still a school-boy he met Chief Albert Luthuli who inspired him towards human rights.
Asmal's political development first began in 1952 with the Defiance Campaign when he was asked to become the secretary of the local rate payers association. This exposed him to the local Indian community's efforts at dealing with apartheid when the government tried to enforce the Group Areas Act in Stanger.
Later in 1952 Asmal left Stanger to attend the Springfield Teacher Training College in Durban. After graduating as a teacher in 1954 he was assigned to an all-Indian school in Darnall, KwaZulu-Natal. While at Darnall he registered for a bachelor's degree by correspondence in English, politics, and history at UNISA.
In 1959, Asmal qualified as a teacher, moved to London where he enrolled at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
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 the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement. Asmal qualified as a barrister 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 lecturer in law at Trinity College for 27 years, specializing in human rights, labour, and international law. Asmal served on the African National Congress' constitutional committee from 1986. He was a board member of the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.
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