Obituaries

Fanie was one of South Africa’s top commercial lawyers for decades and he was the most senior silk at the Johannesburg Bar‚ having earned silk status in June 1976. His areas of expertise were commercial law, competition law, intellectual property and patent law. Read more here.

One of South Africa’s greatest all-round sportsmen who represented and captained South Africa at cricket and remembered equally for the role he played in trying to create a just society for all in South Africa. He was also a top-order batsman, leg-spin bowler and brilliant fielder, he was one of several young players to be capped on the tour to England in 1951 and in all he played in 19 Test matches against England, New Zealand and Australia being captain in four matches each against England and Australia in the 1956/57 and 1957/58 seasons. In the late 1950s, he built up his own legal practice and in addition became one of the founding members of the Progressive Party under the inspired leadership of the legendary Helen Suzman and also served a term in Parliament, representing one of the East London constituencies. As a lawyer he assisted Basil d’Oliveira and other similarly disadvantaged sportsmen with their contracts that enabled them to fulfil the professional careers as sportsmen they had been denied in South Africa. Please also read his obituary in The Telegraph.

Pat was born in 1928 and came up as a Rhodes Scholar in 1948 to read a DPhil in International Law and Legal Studies. After Oxford, he volunteered in the U.S Air Force and spent two years on active duty, chiefly in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, as a legal officer in the United States Mission to Saudi Arabia. After his service, he joined the law firm now known as Baker Botts LLP. When he retired he taught transnational business law as a Visiting Professor at UT Law (1993–1997) and as a Distinguished Lecturer (1996–2006) and an Adjunct Professor (2007–2015) at the University of Houston Law Center.

Stansfield was a Navy admiral and Rhodes Scholar who was Director of Central Intelligence under President Jimmy Carter. He graduated from Oxford in 1949 with a PPE degree.

Read more here.