Leon de Beer
Leon de Beer | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Hillbrow | |
| In office 1987–1989 | |
| Preceded by | Alf Widman |
| Succeeded by | Lester Fuchs |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1959 |
| Died | 10 June 2016 (age 57) Bloemfontein, Free State |
| Nationality | South African |
| Political party | National Party |
Leon de Beer was a South African politician who served as a member of the South African Parliament from 1987 to 1989. His election was notable because he was the first candidate in the country to appeal to gay voters.[1]
Political career
De Beer's 1987 campaign ran advertisements in the gay publication Exit and received a great deal of press as a result of his support for the gay community. His election was controversial not only because he supported the gay community, but because he was a member of the ruling National Party, which was responsible for both apartheid and previously enacted anti-sodomy laws. His campaign promise was twofold: to advance gay rights in the South African political arena and to reinstate Hillbrow as a whites-only area.[2] De Beer ultimately won the election and ousted the Progressive Federal Party incumbent Alf Widman, a victory largely attributed to the white gay community of Hillbrow.[3]
In 1988, de Beer, along with several other politicians, was charged with electoral fraud and he resigned in January 1989. He was convicted and was given a two-year prison sentence, of which he served eight months.[4]
After release, he served briefly on the African National Congress's south Free State regional executive in the 1990s and attempted to apply to stand as a candidate for the Democratic Party but was turned down. He also worked as a director for the Anglo-Boer War Foundation, which became a source of controversy after his previous conviction became known to the Foundation's organizers.[5][6]
Leon de Beer died in June 2016 in Bloemfontein.[7]
References
- ^ Edwin Cameron; Mark Gevisser (13 September 2013). Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa. Routledge. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-1-136-65595-1.
- ^ Engin F. Isin; Peter Nyers (27 June 2014). Routledge Handbook of Global Citizenship Studies. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-23795-9.
- ^ de Waal, Shaun (1 September 1989). "Everyone's chasing the Hillbrow gay vote". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ Myre, Greg (18 January 1989). "Casino Head Admits Bribery In Latest Corruption Scandal". Associated Press. Johannesburg. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ "Changing the face of a war - The Mail & Guardian". 23 September 1999.
- ^ "Probe set for ex con's Anglo-Boer fund". Archived from the original on 17 August 2021.
- ^ Myre, Greg (14 June 2016). "Oudpolitikus Leon de Beer sterf". Netwerk 24. Retrieved 1 September 2019.