Colin Legum
Colin Legum | |
|---|---|
 Legum, pictured c.1965 | |
| Born | 3 January 1919 |
| Died | 8 June 2003 (aged 84) |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist and writer |
| Spouses | |
Colin Legum (3 January 1919 – 8 June 2003) was a South African journalist and writer on
Biography
South Africa, 1919–49
Colin Legum was born on 3 January 1919 in the rural settlement of
Legum was educated at Kestell's Retief High School. In 1934 immediately after finishing at age 15 he left for
United Kingdom and the Observer, 1949–91
Legum left South Africa for the United Kingdom in 1949 as the newly ascendant National Party of F. S. Malan began to construct the Apartheid system of racial segregation.[2] In London Legum gained a prestigious post at The Observer through personal contact with David Astor, its editor, who, like Legum, opposed South African policy.[2] Legum became one of the first British journalists specifically focusing on African issues and remained with The Observer for most of his career, eventually becoming the paper's associate editor.[2]
As a journalist, Legum remained involved in South African political issues. He became part of the Africa Bureau run by
Legum married the economist Margaret Legum (née Roberts) in 1960 after the death of his first wife. They co-authored South Africa: Crisis for the West (1964), which was the first call for economic sanctions against Apartheid South Africa.[2] He was banned from South Africa in 1962 and later from Rhodesia.[2] He established the annual Africa Contemporary Record in 1968.[2] His last book was Africa Since Independence (1991).
South Africa, 1996–2003
With the collapse of the Apartheid state, Legum returned to South Africa in 1996 and settled in Kalk Bay, near Cape Town. He received honorary degrees from Rhodes University and the University of South Africa.[2] In 2002 he founded the Dr Colin Legum Development Trust to provide scholarships at Retief High School.[3] He died on 8 June 2003, aged 84.
References
Bibliography
- Vigne, Randolph (10 June 2003). "Colin Legum: Fleet Street's First Africa Correspondent". The Independent. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- Shaw, Gerald (9 June 2003). "Colin Legum: The Observer's man in Africa, he was the leading analyst of the continent's affairs". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
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