Joel Joffe, Baron Joffe
The Lord Joffe | |
---|---|
Member of the House of Lords | |
In office 22 February 2000 – 30 March 2015 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Joel Goodman Joffe 12 May 1932 Human rights lawyer |
Joel Goodman Joffe, Baron Joffe,
Life and career
Born in
He married the artist Vanetta Pretorius in 1962 and moved with her to the United Kingdom in 1965 after being refused entry to Australia as he was considered "undesirable".[3] Once in the UK he worked in the financial services industry, setting up Hambro Life Assurance with Sir Mark Weinberg as well as in the voluntary sector.[4]
Joffe chaired the Swindon and Marlborough Health Authority and the Ridgeway Hospital and was a member of The Royal Commission on the Care of the Elderly. He was associated with Oxfam in various roles between 1982 and 2001, including being its Chair 1995–2001. He was a trustee of many different charities and actively pursued a range of charitable activities through the Joffe Charitable Trust which he set up with his wife Vanetta in 1968.[2][4]
He was awarded Honorary Doctorates from the
He was appointed
In February 2003 he proposed as a
He appeared on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs on 28 October 2007.[11]
Joffe retired from the House of Lords on 30 March 2015.[12]
In 2017 Joffe appeared along with surviving defendants at the Rivonia Trial, Denis Goldberg, Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada, along with fellow defence lawyers George Bizos and Denis Kuny, in a documentary film entitled Life is Wonderful, directed by Sir Nicholas Stadlen,[13] which tells the story of the trial. The title reflects Goldberg's words to his mother at the end of the trial on hearing that he and his comrades had been spared the death sentence.[14][15][16][17]
A
Joffe died on 18 June 2017 at his home in Liddington after a short illness at the age of 85.[19][20] His life was celebrated in many tributes and obituaries.[3][21][22][23]
Publications
- Joel Joffe, The Rivonia Story, Mayibuye Books, Cape Town, 1995
- Joel Joffe, The State Vs. Nelson Mandela: The Trial That Changed South Africa, Oneworld Publications, 2007
References
- ^ "Joel Joffe (1932–2017)". Oxfam.
- ^ a b https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-sunday-independent/20170625/281728384524512. Retrieved 29 May 2020 – via PressReader.
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(help) - ^ ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ a b paulabs. "Joel Joffe". Joffe Trust. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "Joel Joffe | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "No. 55354". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1998. p. 8.
- ^ "No. 55771". The London Gazette. 22 February 2000. p. 1969.
- ^ "Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill [HL]". Public Bills before Parliament. United Kingdom Parliament. 8 January 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
- ^ "Bid to legalise assisted suicide". BBC News. 20 February 2003. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
- ^ Woodward, Will (13 May 2006). "Lords vote to block assisted suicide bill for terminally ill". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ Joffe was the featured guest on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs on 28 October 2007. During the programme, Joffe mentioned his grandfather's role in writing "Hava Nagila". In the programme notes, the listing for "Hava Nagila" states "Composer: Bashir Am Israelim", meaning that either this is an alias for Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, to whom Joffe was clearly referring in the programme, or the programme notes contain an erroneous entry.
- ^ http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/retired-lords/ Retired members of the House of Lord
- ^ Life is Wonderful Q&A on Vimeo
- YouTube
- ^ Stadlen, Nick (Nicholas) (22 July 2018). "Unsung heroes: the men who stood trial with Mandela". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Green, Pippa (13 June 2018). "Apartheid history: Overlooked Rivonia triallists feted in Life is Wonderful". Business Day. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "'Life is Wonderful' screening reinforces call for such histories in curriculum". Nelson Mandela University. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Lord Joffe CBE". Humanists UK. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ "Statement on the death of Lord Joffe | Press releases | Oxfam GB". Oxfam GB. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ "Tributes paid to Lord Joel Joffe, who has passed away aged 85". Swindon Advertiser. 19 June 2017.
- ^ Battersby, John (29 June 2017). "Lord Joel Joffe passes away, aged 85". The South African. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ "Obituary: Joel Joffe died on June 18th". The Economist. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ SABC Digital News (20 June 2017), Tributes pour in for Mandela's former lawyer Lord Joel Joffe, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 21 November 2017
Further reading
- House of Lords biography
- Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 22 February 2000
- Mandela trial papers at AIM25 – includes some biographical information about Joel Joffe
- Lord Joffe on TheyWorkForYou – including his speeches in Parliament