Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has passed on his condolences to the family of Professor Kader Asmal, following the passing on of the struggle hero and former Cabinet Minister.
"Professor Asmal made a sterling contribution to the struggle for liberation and sacrificed a lot in his life to ensure the attainment of freedom and democracy," said the President following Asmal's death on Wednesday afternoon at Constantia Medi Clinic in Cape Town.
"In the dawn of freedom, he served in government, making a noticeable mark in the water and education portfolios in Cabinet. He will be remembered for his energy, forthrightness, efficiency and commitment to making this country a better place each day. He will also always be remembered for his passion for human rights for all," said Zuma.
Born on 8 October 1934 in Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal, Asmal chose to become a lawyer, graduating from the London School of Economics in 1963 .He also held a Master of Arts degree from Dublin University in 1966, as well as a bachelor degree from the University of South Africa (UNISA), which he obtained while still a teacher. He held several other qualifications.
He lectured abroad 27 years as a law professor after becoming a barrister in Britain and Ireland.
Asmal was the founder member and chair of the British and Irish Anti-Apartheid Movements. He also became involved in campaigns for civil and human rights.
The 76-year-old (who met ANC president and later Nobel Peace Prize winner Chief Albert Luthuli while still at school) also served on the ANC's constitutional committee, which began operating on 1986.
Returning to the country in 1990, Asmal became an ANC delegate to the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) in 1992. Prior to Codesa, he became a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC in 1991. He was a member until 2007.
Asmal served in South Africa's first democratically elected Cabinet under President Nelson Mandela, becoming Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry until 1999. He took up the position of Minister of Education under the Presidency of Thabo Mbeki in 1999, a position he held until 2004.
Asmal was a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2007, after which he became a professor at the University of the Western Cape in the faculty of law.
In his lifetime, the father of two sons received several awards, including the Prix UNESCO for human rights teaching in 1983 and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2000, as well as the Gold Medal of the World Wide Fund for Nature - SA, for conservation in 1996. In 2005, he was made an officer of the Order of the Legion d'Honneur by the President of France.
Asmal has also written or co-edited eight books, and written over 40 chapters in books.
He leaves behind his wife Louise, two sons and two grandchildren.
