Justice Edwin Cameron (66), recently retired Constitutional Court judge and respected academic, author and HIV-Aids activist, has been elected as Stellenbosch University’s (SU) next Chancellor for a term of five years starting January 2020.
The election took place on 25 September 2019 through an electoral college comprising members of Council, members of the Executive Committee of Senate as well as the president and vice-president of the SU Convocation.
Cameron was elected as SU’s 15th Chancellor by an overwhelming majority, according to a press release from SU’s communications office.
“I am honoured and humbled to have this chance to serve SU and its communities, and look forward to my new tasks,” Justice Cameron said.
Justice Edwin Cameron received an honorary doctorate from Stellenbosch University in 2015. PHOTO: Stefan Els.
Chairperson of the electoral college and current Rector and Vice-Chancellor of SU, Professor Wim de Villiers said that he is looking forward to working with Justice Cameron.
“It is a privilege to have someone of the stature of Judge Edwin Cameron as Chancellor of the University. He is a champion for human rights and boasts a distinguished legal career,” De Villiers said. “We also thank our current Chancellor, Dr Johann Rupert for his hard work and assistance during his term which ends on 31 December.”
Though the role is predominantly ceremonial, the future Chancellor will not be sitting back.
“The Chancellor is the titular head of the University and is not a member of its governing council, executive nor academic nor administrative staff. Nevertheless, through staying in touch as a sounding board, and through tactful listening and engagement, the Chancellor may play a further role,” Justice Cameron explained.
I will remain heavily involved in legal work, both in giving lectures on law topics and in doing some legal arbitration work,” he stated. “But I welcome my reconnection to the academic world, in which I worked for many years through my new tasks at Stellenbosch.
Cameron is also a SU alumnus – who graduated his BA in Law and BA Honours in Latin cum laude – and holds an honorary doctorate from SU which he received in 2015.
“There is no reason why the Chancellor needs to be an alumnus. But certainly my four and a half years on campus at Stellenbosch, and my long links since then with the law school and with other groups at the University will stand me in good stead in my new role,” said the Justice.
After his studies, Justice Cameron’s admirable career kicked off at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Centre for Applied Legal Studies before he was appointed as senior counsel (SC) in 1994, and as an acting judge of the high court by President Nelson Mandela later that same year. He was appointed a judge of the high court in 1995, judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2001, and justice of the Constitutional Court in 2009 by president Kgalema Montlanthe.
Justice Cameron is the recipient of five other honorary doctorates from various prestigious institutions, namely King’s College in London, Wits University, University of Oxford, the University of St Andrews in Scotland, and the University of Sussex.
Justice Cameron is also known for his commitment to social justice, human rights and his HIV-Aids activism.
He openly identifies as gay and was the first South African in a high-profile public office speaking openly about his HIV status back in 1999 and his experience taking antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).
Justice Cameron has made an impactful contribution to more accessible ARV treatment for all HIV-positive South Africans. Cameron was an outspoken critic of then-President Thabo Mbeki’s Aids-denialist policies and in 2005 wrote a prize-winning memoir, Witness to Aids, about his own experience of living with Aids.
He has also had an international impact as a top jurist with nearly 200 judgments against his name which is evident from the numerous awards he has received.
Cameron has received recognition from the Bar of England and Wales for his contribution to international jurisprudence and the protection of human rights and the prestigious Grand Prix du Conseil Québécois des Gais et Lesbiennes award was bestowed on him in Montreal.
Fourth-year law student, Olivia Bernstein (22), is especially excited about Justice Cameron’s election.
“He is an icon in the South African judiciary as he has done so much for human rights law, and it is exciting and special to have someone you have studied about and look up to sign off on your degree one day,” she said.