Judy Chalmers
Member of the National Assembly
In office
May 1994 – May 2009
Personal details
Born (1932-11-16) 16 November 1932
Port Elizabeth, Cape Province
Union of South Africa
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress
Other political
affiliations		Black Sash
Relations

Judy Chalmers (née Bellhouse; born 16 November 1932) is a retired South African politician and activist who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2009. During apartheid, she was the chairperson of the Black Sash in the Eastern Cape.

Early life and activism

Chalmers was born on 16 November 1932[1] in Port Elizabeth in the former Cape Province.[2] Her father was Edgar Bellhouse, a founding member and former chair of the liberal (white) Progressive Party, and her elder sister was renowned activist Molly Blackburn.[3] She was educated in Port Elizabeth and briefly attended college in England.[2] As apartheid intensified, Chalmers and Blackburn grew disenchanted with traditional white politics, particularly after they attended the funeral of Robert Sobukwe in Graaff-Reinet in 1978.[3]

By the early 1980s, Chalmers had joined the Black Sash; she became its chairperson in the Eastern Cape. During this period, with Blackburn and others, she reopened the Black Sash's Port Elizabeth Advice Office, through which she conducted outreach with black residents of the region and monitored human rights abuses by the apartheid government.[3][4] The office was often subject to vandalism and was ultimately set alight.[3]

In late December 1985, Chalmers and Blackburn were in a car accident while driving back to Port Elizabeth from Oudtshoorn with fellow Black Sash activist Diana Bishop. Chalmers and Bishop were injured, but Blackburn and Bishop's husband, Brian, were killed.[5]

Parliament: 1994–2009

In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Chalmers was elected to represent the ANC in the National Assembly.[6] She served three terms, gaining re-election in 1999 and 2004, and she represented the Eastern Cape constituency.[1][7]

Personal life

Chalmers is married and has three daughters and several grandchildren.[2] After leaving Parliament, she retired to Summerstrand in Port Elizabeth.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 O'Malley, Padraig. "Chalmers, Judy". The O'Malley Archives. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Fearless Blackburn made real difference". IOL. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "White South African Women Step Off Their Pedestals to Fight Apartheid". The New York Times. 25 December 1988. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Parks, Michael (30 December 1985). "2 Campaigners Against Apartheid Die in Head-on Car Crash in South Africa". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "Minutes of proceedings of the Constitutional Assembly" (PDF). Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. 24 May 1994. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "Former ANC MP Judy Chalmers doing well after Covid-19 diagnosis". Daily Dispatch. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
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