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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Lucas Cornelius Steyn
| image =
| order = 12th
| office = Chief Justice of South Africa
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| honorific-suffix = [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|PC]], [[Queen's Counsel|QC]]
| name = Lucas Cornelius Steyn
| appointer = [[J. G. Strydom]]
| honorific-suffix = KC
| deputy =
| order1 = Officer Administering the Government of South Africa<br/><small>as [[Chief Justice of South Africa]]
| office1 =
| nominator =
| predecessor = [[Henry Allan Fagan]]
| term_start1 = 30 April 1961
| successor = [[Newton Ogilvie Thompson]]
| term_end1 = 31 May 1961
| monarch1 = [[Elizabeth II]]
| monarch2 = [[Elizabeth II]]
| predecessor2 = [[Ernest George Jansen]]<br/>as [[Governor-General of South Africa|Governor-General]]
| primeminister1 = [[Hendrik Verwoerd]]
| primeminister2 = [[Hendrik Verwoerd]]
| predecessor1 = [[Charles Roberts Swart]]<br/><small>as [[Governor-General of South Africa|Governor-General]]
| successor1 = [[Charles Roberts Swart]]<br/><small>as [[State President of South Africa]]
| successor2 = [[Charles Roberts Swart]]<br/>as [[Governor-General of South Africa|Governor-General]]
| monarch1 = [[Elizabeth II]]
| term_start2 = 26 November 1959
| office1 =
| term_end2 = 11 December 1959
| order1 = Officer Administering the Government of South Africa<br/><small>as [[Chief Justice of South Africa]]</small>
| monarch2 = [[Elizabeth II]]
| predecessor2 = [[Ernest George Jansen]]<br/><small>as [[Governor-General of South Africa|Governor-General]]
| predecessor1 = [[Charles Roberts Swart]]<br/>as [[Governor-General of South Africa|Governor-General]]
| primeminister1 = [[Hendrik Verwoerd]]
| successor2 = [[Charles Roberts Swart]]<br/><small>as [[Governor-General of South Africa|Governor-General]]
| successor1 = [[Charles Roberts Swart]]<br/>as [[State President of South Africa]]
| primeminister2 = [[Hendrik Verwoerd]]
| term_start = 1959
|}}
| term_end = 1971
'''Lucas Cornelius Steyn''' (1903–1976) was [[Chief Justice of South Africa|Chief Justice]] of [[South Africa]] and, as such, acted as [[Governor General of the Union of South Africa|Governor-General]] on two occasions.
| term_start1 = 30 April 1961
| term_end1 = 31 May 1961
| term_start2 = 26 November 1959
| term_end2 = 11 December 1959
| birth_date = 21 December 1903<ref>{{cite web|title=Biography of Steyn, Lucas Cornelius|url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/south_africa/sa_gg/steyn.php|publisher=Archontology.org|language=en}}</ref>
| birth_place = Geluksdam, [[Viljoenskroon|District Viljoenskroon]], [[Orange River Colony]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1976|7|28|1903|12|21|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Pretoria]], [[Transvaal (province)|Transvaal]], [[South Africa]]|
}}


'''Lucas Cornelius Steyn''', [[His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|PC]], [[Queen's Counsel|QC]] (21 December 1903 – 28 July 1976) was [[Chief Justice of South Africa]] and, as such, acted as [[Governor General of the Union of South Africa|Governor-General]] on two occasions.
Born in 1903, he graduated with law degrees from the [[University of Stellenbosch]] in 1926, was admitted as an advocate (the South African equivalent of a [[barrister]]) in 1928, and obtained a doctorate in law in 1929.


==Early life==
He was Attorney-General of [[South West Africa]], which was then under South African administration, from 1931 to 1933, and worked in the Department of Justice from 1933 to 1944. He was appointed a [[King's Counsel]] in 1943. He assisted the South African delegation to the [[United Nations]] from 1946 to 1949, and was a legal adviser in the 1950 [[International Court of Justice]] hearing into South Africa's refusal to give up South West Africa.


Steyn was born in 1903 on a farm in the [[Orange River Colony]], shortly after it had fallen under British rule during the [[Boer War]].<ref name=Cameron>{{cite journal |last=Cameron|first=Edwin|author-link=Edwin Cameron|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/soaf99&div=16&id=&page=|title=Legal Chauvinism, Executive-Mindedness and Justice—L C Steyn's Impact on South African Law |journal=South African Law Journal|year=1982|volume=99|page=38}}</ref> His parents were Christiaan Louwrens Steyn and Magdalena Josina Maria Kruger. He attended Kroonstad Secondary School and graduated with a law degree from the [[University of Stellenbosch]] in 1926, was admitted as an advocate (the South African equivalent of a [[barrister]]) in 1928, and obtained a doctorate in law in 1929.<ref>''South Africa, Biographical Index, 1825–2005''</ref>
Steyn was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in 1951, a judge of the Appeals Court in 1955, and Chief Justice in 1959. As Chief Justice, he acted ''ex officio'' as [[Officer Administering the Government]], i.e. acting Governor-General, for the period between the death of Dr [[Ernest George Jansen|Jansen]] in 1959 and the installation of [[Charles Robberts Swart|C.R. Swart]] in 1960, and again between Swart's resignation as the last Governor-General in 1961 and his inauguration as the first [[State President]] a few weeks later. It was he who administered the oaths of office to Swart on both occasions.


==Legal career==
Steyn married Huibrecht van Schoor in 1928. They had two children. He died in 1976.


There followed an illustrious career as a civil servant under four successive Prime Ministers.<ref name="Cameron"/> He was Attorney-General of [[South West Africa]], which was then under South African administration, from 1931 to 1933, and worked in the Department of Justice from 1933 to 1944. He was appointed a [[King's Counsel]] in 1943. He assisted the South African delegation to the [[United Nations]] from 1946 to 1949, and was a legal adviser in the 1950 [[International Court of Justice]] hearing into South Africa's refusal to give up [[South West Africa]].
<ref>{{cite book|title='Dictionary of South African Biography, Volume V|date=August 2010}}</ref>


Steyn was appointed a judge of the High Court ([[Transvaal Provincial Division]]) in 1951.<ref name="Cameron"/> Shortly thereafter, in 1955, he was promoted to the [[Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa|Appellate Division]]. And soon after that he was appointed [[Chief Justice of South Africa|Chief Justice]], ahead of the noted liberal judge of many years' appellate experience, [[Oliver Schreiner]]. This unprecedentedly rapid ascent reflected Steyn's favour with [[D. F. Malan]]'s [[Afrikaner nationalism|Afrikaner nationalist]] administration. As Chief Justice, Steyn acted ''ex officio'' as [[Officer Administering the Government]], i.e. acting Governor-General under a [[dormant commission]], for the period between the death of Dr [[Ernest George Jansen|Jansen]] in 1959 and the installation of [[Charles Robberts Swart|C.R. Swart]] in 1960, and again between Swart's resignation as the last Governor-General in 1961 and his inauguration as the first [[State President of South Africa]] a few weeks later. It was he who administered the oaths of office to Swart on both occasions.
{{s-start}}

{{s-off}}
Steyn's tenure as Chief Justice lasted twelve years. True to his appointment by an Afrikaner nationalist government, Steyn's jurisprudence was executive-minded and critical of English influences on South African law.<ref name="Cameron"/> He retired from the bench in 1971.
{{s-bef|before=[[Ernest George Jansen]]}}

{{s-ttl|title = Acting [[Governor-General of South Africa]]
==Personal life==
|years =1959}}

{{s-aft|after=[[Charles Robberts Swart]]}}
Steyn married Huibrecht van Schoor in 1928. They had two children. He died in 1976.<ref>{{cite book|title='Dictionary of South African Biography, Volume V|date=August 2010}}</ref>
{{s-bef|before=[[Charles Robberts Swart]]}}
{{s-ttl|title = Acting [[Governor-General of South Africa]]
|years =1961}}
{{s-non|reason=Position abolished<br/>'''South Africa became a republic'''&nbsp;}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Attorney-General of South West Africa]]<ref group="note">The position of Attorney-General of South West Africa was called the Crown Prosecutor between 1919 and 1935</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Nico|first=Horn|title=The independence of the prosecutorial authority of South Africa and Namibia: A comparative study|url=http://www.kas.de/upload/auslandshomepages/namibia/Independence_Judiciary/horn2.pdf|accessdate=7 November 2013|page=116}}</ref>
|years=1931 to 1933}}
{{s-aft|after=}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Henry Alan Fagan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chief Justice of South Africa]]
|years=1959–1971}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ernest Frederick Watermeyer]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-end}}


==References and Notes==
==References and Notes==

{{Reflist|group=note|liststyle=lower-roman}}
{{Reflist|group=note|liststyle=lower-roman}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{South Africa GG}}
{{South Africa GG}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata
|NAME=Steyn, Lucas Cornelius
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[Chief Justice]] of [[South Africa]]
|DATE OF BIRTH=2945
|PLACE OF BIRTH=
|DATE OF DEATH=8777
|PLACE OF DEATH=Chinkyland
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steyn, Lucas Cornelius}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steyn, Lucas Cornelius}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century South African judges]]
[[Category:20th-century South African lawyers]]
[[Category:Afrikaner people]]
[[Category:Afrikaner people]]
[[Category:White South African people]]
[[Category:Chief justices of South Africa]]
[[Category:Governors-general of South Africa]]
[[Category:South African members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:20th-century King's Counsel]]
[[Category:South African people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:South African people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:Chief Justices of South Africa]]
[[Category:Governors-General of South Africa]]
[[Category:Queen's Counsel]]
[[Category:South African Queen's Counsel]]
[[Category:South African Queen's Counsel]]


{{SouthAfrica-politician-stub}}

Latest revision as of 14:58, 20 November 2024

The Right Honourable
Lucas Cornelius Steyn
PC, QC
12th Chief Justice of South Africa
In office
1959–1971
Appointed byJ. G. Strydom
Preceded byHenry Allan Fagan
Succeeded byNewton Ogilvie Thompson
Officer Administering the Government of South Africa
as Chief Justice of South Africa
In office
30 April 1961 – 31 May 1961
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterHendrik Verwoerd
Preceded byCharles Roberts Swart
as Governor-General
Succeeded byCharles Roberts Swart
as State President of South Africa
In office
26 November 1959 – 11 December 1959
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterHendrik Verwoerd
Preceded byErnest George Jansen
as Governor-General
Succeeded byCharles Roberts Swart
as Governor-General
Personal details
Born21 December 1903[1]
Geluksdam, District Viljoenskroon, Orange River Colony
Died28 July 1976(1976-07-28) (aged 72)
Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa

Lucas Cornelius Steyn, PC, QC (21 December 1903 – 28 July 1976) was Chief Justice of South Africa and, as such, acted as Governor-General on two occasions.

Early life

[edit]

Steyn was born in 1903 on a farm in the Orange River Colony, shortly after it had fallen under British rule during the Boer War.[2] His parents were Christiaan Louwrens Steyn and Magdalena Josina Maria Kruger. He attended Kroonstad Secondary School and graduated with a law degree from the University of Stellenbosch in 1926, was admitted as an advocate (the South African equivalent of a barrister) in 1928, and obtained a doctorate in law in 1929.[3]

[edit]

There followed an illustrious career as a civil servant under four successive Prime Ministers.[2] He was Attorney-General of South West Africa, which was then under South African administration, from 1931 to 1933, and worked in the Department of Justice from 1933 to 1944. He was appointed a King's Counsel in 1943. He assisted the South African delegation to the United Nations from 1946 to 1949, and was a legal adviser in the 1950 International Court of Justice hearing into South Africa's refusal to give up South West Africa.

Steyn was appointed a judge of the High Court (Transvaal Provincial Division) in 1951.[2] Shortly thereafter, in 1955, he was promoted to the Appellate Division. And soon after that he was appointed Chief Justice, ahead of the noted liberal judge of many years' appellate experience, Oliver Schreiner. This unprecedentedly rapid ascent reflected Steyn's favour with D. F. Malan's Afrikaner nationalist administration. As Chief Justice, Steyn acted ex officio as Officer Administering the Government, i.e. acting Governor-General under a dormant commission, for the period between the death of Dr Jansen in 1959 and the installation of C.R. Swart in 1960, and again between Swart's resignation as the last Governor-General in 1961 and his inauguration as the first State President of South Africa a few weeks later. It was he who administered the oaths of office to Swart on both occasions.

Steyn's tenure as Chief Justice lasted twelve years. True to his appointment by an Afrikaner nationalist government, Steyn's jurisprudence was executive-minded and critical of English influences on South African law.[2] He retired from the bench in 1971.

Personal life

[edit]

Steyn married Huibrecht van Schoor in 1928. They had two children. He died in 1976.[4]

References and Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Biography of Steyn, Lucas Cornelius". Archontology.org.
  2. ^ a b c d Cameron, Edwin (1982). "Legal Chauvinism, Executive-Mindedness and Justice—L C Steyn's Impact on South African Law". South African Law Journal. 99: 38.
  3. ^ South Africa, Biographical Index, 1825–2005
  4. ^ 'Dictionary of South African Biography, Volume V. August 2010.
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