South African Leader Shares Experience, Optimism

South Africa’s oppressive era of apartheid ended in the early 1990s, but Anthony James “Tony” Leon wants to be sure the racial segregation that was a way of life there for more than four centuries is never forgotten. As unpleasant as the memory is, he hopes that keeping it alive will help other countries still struggling with the same issues.

That was just part of the message Leon, a member of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, brought to UMW’s Dodd Auditorium last November. During his presentation South Africa: Perspectives from the Past, Prospects for the Future, he also addressed the high unemployment rate, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS-related deaths, the disproportionate number of poverty-stricken blacks, and other issues facing South Africa today.

The former leader of that country’s largest opposition movement, the Democratic Alliance and Democratic Party, Leon served last semester as a Fellow of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Leon’s accomplishments as a writer include his 1998 book Hope & Fear: Reflections of a Democrat and his contributions to international journals, newspapers, and magazines, including TIME.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela described Leon as dynamic and analytical.  A lawyer by profession, Leon also is a positive thinker – at least about the future of his country.

“There is a change happening,” Leon said while on campus. “I’m very optimistic.”