Suzman, Helen (1917-2009), became South Africa’s best-known woman politician. She served for 36 years as a member of Parliament. During this time, she won world recognition for her staunch opposition to the policy of enforced racial segregation known as apartheid.
Helen Gavronsky was born on Nov. 7, 1917, in Germiston, in what was then the Transvaal. She married Moses Suzman, a physician, in 1937. She became a lecturer in economic history at the University of the Witwatersrand. She joined the United Party (UP) and was first elected to Parliament in April 1953. Suzman was part of a group that broke away from the UP to form the Progressive Party. In the general election of 1961, she was the only member of the Progressive Party to be elected. She remained the party’s only voice in Parliament for 13 years. Suzman continued to play a leading role in opposition politics until her retirement in September 1989. Her memoir, In No Uncertain Terms, was published in 1993. Suzman died on Jan. 1, 2009.
