Leonora van den Heever (1926- ) was South Africa's first female judge (appointed 1969) and the first woman to serve as a judge in the Appeal Court (appointed 1991). She graduated with a Masters degree in English from the University of Pretoria before pursuing her interest in Law on a part-time basis through the University of the Orange Free State. She was admitted to the Orange Free State Bar as an advocate at the age of 26.
Leonora van den Heever continued to express her love for the written word by authoring two published children’s books and also contributing short stories under a nom de plume for Sarie Magazine.
She was the recipient of many awards and honours.
Published
The collection contains general correspondence conducted by Judge Van den Heever, photographs and newspaper clippings about her and a few items of personal or legal interest. The folders or items are numbered and titled as follows:
A1 General correspondence, 1970-2005
A2 Itineraries and correspondence with travel agents, 1990-1991
B1 Court management experience in Namibia
B2 "Nelson R Mandela: From Birth to Life Imprisonment" (briefing paper)
B3 Notebooks (Three notebooks containing creative writing from student days, as well as a household account book)
B4 Judgement in the Appeal Court case of Pippa Skotnes and South Africa Library, 1997
C Photographs
D Newspaper cuttings about Judge Leonora van den Heever
Donated by Judge Leonora van den Heever.