Tony Leon

Infobox Politician

---

name = Anthony James Leon
width =
height =
caption =
office = Leader of the Democratic Alliance
term_start = 1994 (DP)
term_end = May 5, 2007
predecessor =
successor = Helen Zille
constituency =
majority =
office2 = Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly
term_start2 = 1999
term_end2 = May 5, 2007
predecessor2 = Marthinus van Schalkwyk (NNP)
successor2 = Sandra Botha
constituency2 =
majority2 =
office3 = Member of the National Assembly
term_start3 = 1989
term_end3 = 2009
predecessor3 =
successor3 =
constituency3 =
majority3 =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1956|12|15
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
party = Democratic Alliance
relations =
spouse = Michal Leon
children =
residence =
occupation =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Anthony James Leon (born December 15, 1956) is a South African politician and the former leader of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's main opposition party and former leader of the opposition.

Biography

Early life

Leon grew up in South Africa in a Jewish family during the apartheid era. He was educated at Kearsney College near Durban.

Politics

In 1974 at the age of 18 he became an organiser for the Progressive Party, one of the two opposition parties represented in parliament at the time. After this, he qualified as an attorney at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he was President of the Law Students' Council and Vice-President of the Students' Representative Council, and became a lecturer in the Law Department in 1986. In the same year he was elected to the Johannesburg City Council for Yeoville. When the results for the election were released, it was announced that his rival Bloomberg had won. However Harry Schwarz uncovered that this was untrue, and Leon was declared the winner. He became leader of the opposition in the city council.cite web
url=http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/People/Leadership/Leader.asp
title=Tony Leon : Leader of the Democratic Alliance
publisher=Democratic Alliance
accessdate=2006-11-27]

In 1989 he was elected to Parliament for the Houghton constituency, representing the Progressive Party's successor, the Democratic Party.

From 1990 to 1994 he chaired the DP's Bill of Rights Commission, and as such was an advisor to the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and a delegate to the multi-party negotiations that led to the end of apartheid and the establishment of a multi-party democracy in 1994.

At the 1994 general elections, Leon was again elected to Parliament in the first democratic National Assembly, as well as leader of the Democratic Party. At the time, the Democratic Party was perceived as merely a minor party of white liberals, an oddity in the first multiracial government of South Africa.

With the second democratic elections in 1999 and the New National Party only retaining 28 seats (down from 82 in 1994), he became Leader of the Opposition as the DP took 38 seats.

After the 2004 general elections, the Democratic Alliance under Leon had a vote increased by 2.8%, as did the ANC with an increase of 3.3%. These gains came at a cost to three of the five minor opposition parties, with only the Independent Democrats — a newcomer in the elections — also attracting support.

Leon built a high media profile as opposition leader by criticising the ANC government under Nelson Mandela but more so under his successor, President Thabo Mbeki, for their inabilities to properly deal with South Africa's problems of poverty, unemployment and the AIDS epidemic.

Retirement

On November 26, 2006, Leon announced that he would step down from the leadership of the Democratic Alliance in 2007, and would not accept nomination for the leadership of the party at the party's congress in May 2007. Leon would, nevertheless, keep his seat in Parliament until 2009, when its term expires.cite news
url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=6&art_id=qw1164576423954B245 | title=Time has come for me to go, says Leon
last=Guy
first=Duncan
publisher=Independent Online
date=2006-11-27
accessdate=2006-11-27]

Leon retired as leader of the DA on 5 May 2007. He was succeeded by Helen Zille who was elected as the new party leader on 6 May 2007.

Leon was voted 16th in the TV channel SABC3's Top 100 Great South Africans. He became the first South African politician to record a podcast when his was launched during the 2006 local government election campaign.

From September to December 2007, Leon was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Personal life

Leon is married (since 2000) to Michal (formerly Even-Zahav, Israeli born). His Personal Assistant, who has been working with him since he assumed the leadership of the opposition, is Sandy Slack.

In August 2008, Leon published his policial memoir - "On the contrary" published by Jonathan Ball.

External links

* [http://www.da.org.za/ Democratic Alliance website]
* [http://www.tonyleon.com Personal website]
* [http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11919285 Economist Book Review On The Contrary]
* [http://www.kalahari.net/books/On-the-Contrary/632/32657567.aspx]
* [http://www.exclusivebooks.com/search.php?searchtype=1&type=2&keyword=on+the+contrary]

References

succession box
before = Marthinus van Schalkwyk (NNP)
title = Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly
years = 1999 - 2007
after = Sandra Bothasuccession box
before = Zach de Beer
title = Leader of the Democratic Party
years = 1994 - 2000
after = "renamed the Democratic Alliance"succession box
before = founding leader
title = Leader of the Democratic Alliance
years = 1990 - 2006
after = Helen Zille