Harry Schwarz

Harry Heinz Schwarz
File:Harry Schwarz1.jpg Harry Schwarz on the Charlie Rose talk show.
13th South Africa Ambassador to the United States
In office March 6 1991 – January 12 1995
President	Frederik Willem de Klerk Nelson Mandela
Preceded by	Piet Koornhof
Succeeded by	Franklin Sonn
1st South Africa Ambassador to Barbados
In office 1991–1995
Preceded by	First Ambassador
Shadow Minister of Finance and Consumer Affairs
In office November 30 1977 – May 5 1987
Preceded by	John Jaminan
Succeeded by	Jan van Zyl
Shadow Minister of Defense
In office 1977–1984
Preceded by	Vause Raw
Succeeded by	Roger Hulley
Leader of the Opposition in the Transvaal
In office 1963–1974
Member of Parliament for Yeoville
In office April 24 1974 – February 6 1991
Preceded by	Marais Steyn
Succeeded by	Douglas Gibson
Member of the Transvaal Provincial Council for Hillbrow
In office 1958–1974
Personal details
Born	(1924-05-13) May 13, 1924 Cologne, Germany
Died	majority majority
Resting place	majority majority
Political party	United Party Reform Party Progressive Reform Party Progressive Federal Party Democratic Party
Spouses	Annette Louise Schwarz
Children	Jonathan, Allan & Michael Schwarz
Parent	majority majority
Alma mater	University of the Witwatersrand
Occupation	Solicitor

Harry Heinz Schwarz (born May 13, 1924) is a former South African politician, diplomat, jurist and prominent leader in the anti-apartheid movement.

Harry Schwarz's political career started with sitting on the Johannesburg city council from 1951-1957. In 1958 he was elected into the Transvaal provincial council. From 1972 to 1975 he was the leader of the United Party in the Transvaal. In 1975 he led a breakaway movement from the United Party and created the Reform Party of which he was the leader. He was Opposition spokesman on Finance and defense. He was a founding member of the Democratic Party. From 1991-1994 he was South African ambassador to the United States. He was the first South African ambassador to Barbados. He was in the minority opposition for over 40 years and was a prominent opponent of the National Party.

He was one of the founders of the Torch Commando, an ex-soldiers' movement to protest against the disenfranchisement of the coloured people in South Africa. He was also on the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and was one of the Jewish community's foremost leaders. He is regarded as one of the great South African public speakers and debaters of his time. In his political career spanning 43 years, in which he gained respect from across the political spectrum, he never lost an election. He served as a navigator in the SAAF during World War II. He received the Order of Meritorious Service and an Honorary Doctorate.

He was described by the University of Stellenbosch as "one of the conceptual and moral fathers of the new South Africa" in the sense that Schwarz had not only been one of apartheid's most prominent opponents, but his ideas and the initiatives he had taken had played an important role in the development of the concept of a negotiated democracy in South Africa, based on the principles of freedom and justice. Nelson Mandela, a friend of his who he visited while in prison, described him as a "champion of the poor".

Refugee from Germany

Harry Heinz Schwarz was born to Fritz Schwarz and Alma Schwarz in Cologne, Germany. He arrived in South Africa as a Jewish refugee from Germany in 1934. He traveled onboard the SS Giulio Cesare. To get to the Giulio Cesare, he and his family had to walk across the border into Switzerland. They then got on a train to Milan and then to Genoa. When they arrived in Cape Town they stayed in one room in a house in Kloof Street.

He attended Tamboerskloof School and South African College Schools in Cape Town and then Jeppe High School for Boys in Johannesburg.

World War II

Main article: Military history of South Africa during World War II

He joined the South African Air Force during World War II in 1942 aged 17. He served as a navigator. He fought in North Africa and Italy. He was in 15 squadron and seconded to the RAF. In 1984 he was made an Honorary Colonel of the 15th Squadron.

Wits University

In 1946 Harry went to University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where he first befriended fellow students and future anti-apartheid political activists Nelson Mandela and Joe Slovo. He joined the United Party and assisted in the 1948 election. However, as a result of the National Party victory, he was determined to become more active and was elected Chairman of the United Party branch at the university. He argued that the National Party's victory in 1948 was reversible and anyone who opposed them should concentrate on defeating them. He was awarded a BA, with distinctions in both history and economical history, and later an LLB. In 1949 he was admitted as an attorney, and later as a barrister (Member of Middle Temple) in London, United Kingdom and, in 1953, became an advocate at the South African Bar. He was at the Bar at the same time as Joe Slovo and Richard Goldstone.

Rivonia Trial

Main article: Rivonia Trial

In 1964 Nelson Mandela and many other political opponents were arrested. They were brought to court in the Rivonia Trial. Harry Schwarz was one of the defence barristers in the trial defending Accused No. 8 Jimmy Kantor, who was friend of his and was acquitted. While Nelson Mandela was in jail, Schwarz visited him. After the trial he stopped being a barrister so that he could concentrate on politics.

Leader of the opposition

Harry Schwarz was a City Councillor in Johannesburg from 1951 to 1957 for Booysens. In 1958 in a by-election he was elected into the Transvaal provincial council for Hillbrow. In 1963 he became leader of the opposition in the Transvaal provincial council. In 1971 he became deputy leader of the UP in the Transvaal, a post specially created for him. Schwarz was the leader of the liberal "Young Turks" in the United Party. Internal divisions in the Party between liberals and conservatives came to a head on 25 August 25 1972 when Schwarz replaced Marais Steyn as the leader of the United Party in the Transvaal. Steyn had been a MP for almost 25 years and for 15 years had been a close adviser to De Villiers Graaff. After he lost the election he defected to the National Party. His victory was a visible sign of strength from the liberals within the party

On January 4 1974, Harry Schwarz met with Mangosuthu Buthelezi. They agreed on a five-point 5 point plan for racial peace in South Africa that became known as the "Mahlabatini Declaration". Its purpose was to provide a blueprint for government by consent and racial peace in a multi-racial society, stressing opportunity for all, consultation, the federal concept, and a bill of rights. It was much closer to the Progressive Party than the United Party policy. It caused a split in the United Party later that year.

On March 29 1974, Chief Minister Cedric Phatudi of Lebowa signed the ‘Seshego Declaration’ with Harry Schwarz and the United Party M.P. for Durban North aiming at peaceful change, a federal system and a stake in society for black people.

Parliamentary Career

Reform Party

Harry Schwarz was known as the leader of the liberal "Young Turks" within the United Party, who were much more critical of Apartheid than the party's leader, De Villiers Graaff. In the 1974 general election he was elected into parliament for the United Party. In 1975 he was expelled from the United Party for signing the Mahlabatini Declaration and not following the "party line". On February 11 he formed the Reform Party, which he led. The Reform Party had four MP's, a senator and ten members of the Transvaal Provincial Council. This made it the official opposition in the Transvaal Provincial Council.

Progressive Federal Party

On the 25 July the Reform Party merged with the Progressive Party to form the Progressive Reform Party. This proved to realign the opposition in South Africa, as the PRP became the official opposition party. Schwarz became the party's spokesman on finance and Chairman of the Federal Executive. It soon became the Progressive Federal Party in which he was the party's finance spokesman (1975-91), defence spokesman (1975-84) and Chairman of the Federal Executive (1975-79). He was a member and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and a member of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee. He was perceived to be on the right wing of the PFP mainly due to his favoring strong military defense and his insistence that political change must take place without the disruption of law and order.

On February 6, 1991 he ended his career in parliament. His farewell speech to parliament was entitled "Look after my people while I'm gone".

South African Ambassador to United States

Harry Schwarz and President George H. W. Bush in 1991

Harry Schwarz was the first serving politician from the opposition ranks to be appointed to a senior ambassadorial post in South African history. Schwarz agreed to the appointment of ambassador because of the Government's commitment to the fundamental reforms that he had fought for, as well as on the terms that the National Party would not try and take his seat in Yeoville. His appointment was widely acknowledged in South Africa as a further demonstration of President F. W de Klerk's determination to introduce a new democratic system.

While in office in Washington, D.C., he worked on marketing the process towards democracy in South Africa and on lifting sanctions. Schwarz, played a significant role in convincing many Americans that the de Klerk government was committed to ending apartheid. In 1991, after international pressure on South Africa, Harry Schwarz signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. After the 1994 General election, he stayed on as ambassador, following a request by Nelson Mandela to stay on in the government of national unity.

Schwarz returned to South Africa in November 1994, following his three and-a-half-year tenure as South African ambassador to the United States. At an event sponsored by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies in his honor, Schwarz urged the Jewish community to make the best of the changes taking place in South Africa and to contribute actively to the success of the country.

Jewish Board of Deputies

Beginning in the mid-seventies, Schwarz played an increasingly important role on the Jewish Board of Deputies, serving as chairman of its committee on international relations and often acting as spokesman for the board to Jewish agencies abroad. He argued that violent change could ultimately lead to a nondemocratic government, incompatible with Jewish ethics and with the interests of the Jewish community. He emphasized that Jews needed not only a democratic society for all, but also "The right to follow [their] own religion and love for Israel freely." He was assured in private meetings by Israeli Prime Minister's Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir that Jews in South Africa would not become isolated and links with Israel would be maintained.

Quotes

"I want to abolish discrimination, not merely cosmetically but in reality."

"It is important that in the process of change, existing institutions of value and means of production are not destroyed. The fabric of society, however critical one may be of its present structures, should be adopted and modified where required, but not destroyed."

"Poverty corrodes freedom."

"We are opposed to the homeland concept and we believe the way to solve our problems is to call a national convention of all races to change to a more multiracial basis."

"Democracy is impossible in a climate of violence, intimidation and fear."

"We are a country with a people who are removing the shackles of apartheid and will create a just economic system and a true democracy"

Awards and honors

Harry Schwarz was awarded Order for Meritorious Service (Gold) in 1988. In 1995 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate, from the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University). That year he also received an honorary degree from the University of Stellenbosch. He has also been given the Society of Advocates Prize and Transvaal Law Society Prize. In 1984 he was made an Honorary Colonel of the 15th Squadron in the South African Air Force, which he served in during the Second World War. In 2002 he was appointed Honorary Life Vice-President of the Gauteng Council. Sir John Adamson High's School's hall was named, and still is, after Schwarz who was the first Chairperson of the School's Governing Body.

Present life

Harry Schwarz has now returned to law. His areas of legal practice are primarily corporate and commercial with special interests in banking, insurance, diplomacy and advocacy. After Harry Schwarz left Washington, he and his wife set up a charity trust called the Schwarz Upliftment Trust. In 2000 he left the Democratic Party because of its alliance with the New National Party. He lives in Johannesburg with his wife Annette. She is the niece of trade unionist Jimmy Green. They have been married for 57 years with three children and four grandchildren.

Sources

• Goethe Institut Südafrika. Biographies. Harry Heinz Schwarz. Seeking Refuge Exhibition. 2005/2006
• [1]
• [2]
• [3] No rest for the dedicated.
• American Jewish University Link Formerly the University of Judaism
• [4]
• [5]
• [6] Hebrew University
• [7]

External links

• Washington Diplomat Bio

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