Louis le Grange

  • John Vorster
  • P. W. Botha
Speaker of the House of Assembly of South AfricaIn office
1987–1991PresidentF.W. de KlerkPreceded byJohan GreeffSucceeded byGene Louw Personal detailsBorn(1928-08-16)16 August 1928
Ladybrand, Orange Free State, Union of South AfricaDied25 October 1991(1991-10-25) (aged 63)
Potchefstroom, Orange Free State (province), South AfricaCitizenshipSouth African citizenshipPolitical partyNational PartySpouse
Jessie Ortlepp-Marais
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(m. 1952)​
Alma materPotchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education

Louis le Grange (16 August 1928 – 25 October 1991) was a lawyer, a South African politician and a member of the National Party.

Early life

Le Grange was born to Elizabeth Raats and Johannes Jacobus Le Grange in Ladybrand in the Orange Free State of South Africa.[1]: 135  He attended primary school in Fochville and Potchefstroom and matriculated Potchefstroom Hoer Volkskool in 1946.[1]: 135  After matriculating, he joined the Department of Interior and Justice in 1947 as clerk while studying for a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Africa, obtaining it in 1953.[1]: 135  He left to become an attorney in partnership, obtaining his Attorneys' Admission Diploma in 1955 and an LL.B. in 1956.[1]: 135  He received a BA Honours in Political Science in 1964 from the University of Potchefstroom.[1]: 135 

Political career

His came from a politically active family, his mother a secretary of the National Party's Kimberley branch in 1915, while his father had stood as an independent in Losberg in 1938.[1]: 136  He was a member of the National Party, Member of Parliament for the constituency of Potchefstroom (1966-1991), Deputy Minister of Information (1975-1978), Interior (1975-1978), Immigration (1978), and Public Works (1978), in governments of John Vorster.[1]: 136 

He then served as Minister of Tourism and Public Works (1978-1979), Prisons (1979-1980), Police (1979-1982) and Law and Order (1982-1986) in the cabinets of P.W. Botha,[1]: 136  before he became the 13th Speaker of the House of Assembly of South Africa (1987-1991).

Marriage

He married Jessie Ortlepp-Marais in May 1952, and had two sons and two daughters.[1]: 137 

Death

He died of a heart attack in Potchefstroom, aged 63.

References

  • "Louis le Grange het gesterf soos hy geleef het tussen vriende" [Louis le Grange died the way he lived – among friends]. Beeld (in Afrikaans). 28 October 1991.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gastrow, Shelagh (1985). Who's who in South African politics. Internet Archive. Johannesburg : Ravan Press. ISBN 978-0-86975-280-7.
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Speakers of the Lower House of Parliament of South Africa
House of Assembly (1910–1994)
National Assembly (1994–present)