PIONEER
Sheila Camerer
DA member | Constitution Drafter | Negotiator
Born: 15 December 1941.
“The constitutional negotiating process was frenetic and took its toll, but also laid the foundations for mutual understanding between formerly divided politicians as to what would be best for our country. As a metaphor for this, I remember the final meeting of our chapter 2 (Bill of Rights) Committee of the Constitutional Assembly in Parliament’s Old Assembly Chamber. As the final ‘t’ was crossed, Cyril put on the music, and I was suddenly swept off my feet and whirled around the floor by Zwelinzima Vavi, erstwhile COSATU Secretary General!”
Who is
Sheila Camerer?
Attorney, Democratic Alliance (DA) politician and Member of Parliament (MP).
Professions
and Roles
Councillor; Provincial Councillor; Practicing attorney; DA politician; Member of Parliament; diplomat.
Best Known For
Chairing the Ad Hoc Committee of the Negotiating Council on the Bill of Rights and as the NP negotiator on the Bill of Rights on Theme Committee 4.
Life highlights
- Camerer was first elected to office as a Councillor in Johannesburg from 1982 to 1987, and then as a Provincial Councillor for Rosettenville from 1984 to 1986.
- She was then elected as an MP for Rosettenville in Johannesburg for the NP in 1987.
- Camerer participated in the constitutional negotiations from 1991 to 1996, and played a prominent role as a member of Working Group 2 of CODESA.
- She was appointed as Deputy Minister of Justice in 1993.
- Camerer served as NP negotiator on Theme Committee 4.
- She served again as Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 when the NP left the government of National Unity. She led the New NP (NNP) in the National Assembly from 1997 until 1999, and subsequently helped to found the Democratic Alliance, serving as its first Caucus Chair in Parliament.
- Camerer rejoined the DA in 2003 and served as DA Justice Spokesperson.
- She was appointed as the South African Ambassador to Bulgaria in 2008, serving there from 2009 until 2013.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“During the five years I was involved in negotiating our Constitution from November/December 1991, when CODESA got underway, until December 1996, when the final Constitution (in respect of which I was mostly concerned with the Bill of Rights) became law, I was a NAT, though professedly a verligte (liberal) one! When former President De Klerk called me into his office in February 1993 and told me he was appointing me Deputy Minister of Justice with the specific job of handling negotiations on the Bill of Rights section of the new Constitution at the multi-party talks, he commented: ‘You’ll always thank me for this. There is no greater task for a lawyer than helping to draft a Constitution.’ And I do. It was the most extraordinary experience of my life, and I feel privileged to have been part of the process.”
– Sheila Camerer
