George Bizos

Early life

Bizos was the son of Antonios "Antoni" Bizos, the mayor of the small village of Vasilitsi, south of Koroni and Kalamata on the Messenia peninsula of the Peloponnese, Greece. He was born on 14 November 1927, although this was erroneously recorded on his South African identity documents as 1928, owing to his father's declaration to the authorities upon arrival in Egypt.

In May 1941 at the age of thirteen, Bizos and his father helped seven New Zealand Army soldiers (Don Gladding, Mick Karup, Peter Martin, John Lewis and three others) who were hiding in the hills to escape the German-occupied Greek mainland for Crete. The nine set out to sea at night, with only a cheap compass and a map torn from an atlas, intending to escape to Crete. On the second day at sea, rough winds took the sail out of control and tore through its canvas. The men had to take turns to row throughout the night until they managed to repair the sail. On the third day, they spotted a ship in the distance. They managed to attract the attention of the crew of what turned out to be the British destroyer, HMS Kimberley, on its way to the Battle of Crete. After the battle, the Kimberley dropped him and his father off at Alexandria, Egypt.

As a refugee, Bizos was sent to the Union of South Africa and landed in Durban. From there he went by train to Johannesburg, disembarking at the Braamfontein railway station. At the time, the Ossewabrandwag, an Afrikaner group with Nazi sympathies, were demonstrating against the arrival of refugees. The Ossewabrandwag blamed Jan Smuts for bringing the vuilgoed (rubbish) of Europe to South Africa. The local Greek community helped integrate him into society.

Bizos did not go to school for his first two years in the country as he spoke neither English nor Afrikaans. and undertook a 3-year Bachelor of Arts degree, followed by a three-year LLB law degree. It was during this time that he first became politically active, joining the students' representative council under the leadership of Harold Wolpe.

Legal career

Apartheid era

Bizos joined the Bar in Johannesburg in 1954. During the 1950s and 1960s he was counsel to a wide range of well-known people including Trevor Huddleston of Sophiatown.

At the Rivonia Trial from 1963 to 1964, Bizos was part of the team that defended Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu. The accused were sentenced to life imprisonment, but spared the death penalty. Although it is sometimes said that he claims to have drafted Mandela's famous speech spoken at the trial, he says that his main contribution was to advise the use of the words "if needs be" before Mandela said that he was prepared to die. Bizos believed that this may have contributed to the avoidance of the death penalty, by having Mandela not appear to seek martyrdom.

Bizos was council for the accused in at least 26 other prominent anti-apartheid trials and inquests. In 1969 he acted for the defence of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and 21 others on charges of contravening the Suppression of Communism Act and Unlawful Organisations Act. Together with Arthur Chaskalson and Dennis Kuny, he also represented the NUSAS Five who were charged with furthering the aims of the African National Congress and communism in 1975.

Bizos subsequently became a senior member of the Johannesburg Bar in 1978. He was a member of the National Council of Lawyers for Human Rights, which he helped found in 1979. He was senior counsel at the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg in the Constitutional Litigation Unit. He also served as a judge on Botswana's Court of Appeal from 1985 to 1993.

Post-apartheid

Bizos became a member of the African National Congress' (ANC) Legal and Constitutional Committee in 1990,

Bizos was retained as counsel at various inquests into the deaths of people in detention.

Bizos was appointed by President Mandela to the Judicial Services Commission in 1994. and counsel for the National Assembly in the Certification of the Constitution by the Constitutional Court. He later served as a legal advisor to Mandela in 2005, during a bitter legal dispute with the latter's former lawyer, Ismail Ayob.{{Cite web

Film about Rivonia

In 2017 Bizos appeared along with surviving defendants at the Rivonia Trial, Denis Goldberg, Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada, along with fellow defence lawyers Joel Joffe and Denis Kuny, in a documentary film entitled Life is Wonderful, directed by Sir Nicholas Stadlen, 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.

Notable people represented

Bizos represented the following people, among others:

• Nelson Mandela, since the 1950s
• Trevor Huddleston of Sophiatown, 1950s
• Mac Maharaj in the Little Rivonia Trial
• Govan Mbeki in the Rivonia Trial in 1963–64
• Walter Sisulu in the Rivonia Trial in 1963–64, and afterwards his wife
• Ahmed Timol's family, regarding his death in detention in 1971
• Steve Biko's family, regarding his death in detention in 1977
• Neil Aggett's family, regarding his death in detention in 1982
• Rob Adam in a trial for involvement in ANC activities, 1982
• Patrick Lekota (known as "Terror") and Popo Molefe at the Delmas Treason Trial, 1985–89
• Chris Hani's family, during a Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing where Hani's assassins had applied for amnesty
• Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change of Zimbabwe, when he was charged with planning a coup d'état before the 2002 general elections
• Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

Other activities

In the 1970s Bizos helped start a Greek school, called SAHETI. It embraced Hellenism, yet was non-exclusionist, even during the heart of apartheid. It was here that people like Chris Hani's children were educated. Bizos became the role model for Angelique Rockas leading up to her founding of the Internationalist Theatre.

Two of Mandela's daughters brought court action in 2013 to oust Bizos, ex-Housing Minister Tokyo Sexwale and lawyer Bally Chuene as directors of two of Mandela's firms. Bizos said that the daughters were trying to "get their hands on things that should not be sold". The case was delayed after the daughters' lawyer Ismail Ayob withdrew from the case.

Personal life and death

Bizos was married to Arethe Daflos, known as "Rita", who he met in 1948 when she was an art student. The couple had three sons. Rita died in 2017, shortly before her husband's 90th birthday.

Bizos died of natural causes at home on 9 September 2020 at the age of 92. He was given a special state funeral on 17 September and was buried at Westpark Cemetery next to his wife Rita.

Honours and awards

• 1999: Order for Meritorious Service Class II medal from then President Mandela.
• 2001: International Trial Lawyer Prize of the Year by the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
• 2004: The International Bar Association (IBA) named Bizos the winner of the 2004 Bernard Simons Memorial Award{{Cite press release | access-date = 14 October 2014 | archive-date = 11 September 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140911102952/http://www.ibanet.org/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleUid=7967B641-BC7D-40E5-85EC-44395128DDE5 | url-status = live

Legacy

• George Bizos SAHETI Scholarship and Bursary Fund
• Arethe Daflos-Bizos Arts Scholarship (announced on Bizos's 90th birthday to honour his late wife)

Works

References

References

1. (9 September 2020). "George Bizos, Anti-Apartheid Lawyer Who Defended Mandela, Dies at 92 (Published 2020)".
2. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FjoMAQAAMAAJ ''Ατλας της Ελληνικης διασπορας'', Volume 2], Alexandros, 2001, p. 428.
3. Isaacs, Doron. (14 November 2017). "How two teachers helped George Bizos become a lawyer".
4. Bizos, George. (2017). "65 Years of Friendship". Penguin Random House South Africa.
5. (22 October 2004). "Media Challenge: Who and Where Are the Seven?". International Bar Association.
6. Alcock, Sello S.. (16 November 2008). "Birthday tea with Bizos". Mail & Guardian.
7. Bizos, George. (October 1989). "Memoirs of George Bizos". Aluka.
8. Johnson, Angella. (26 September 1997). "Greek patriarch of the struggle". Mail & Guardian.
9. Swart, Mia. (10 September 2020). "'Legendary': Prominent human rights lawyer George Bizos dies". [[Al Jazeera English.
10. (6 December 2019). "Friends, family celebrate Bizos' 90th". Befordview and Edendale News.
11. de Villiers, James. (10 September 2020). "EXPLAINER: The Treason Trial, Rivonia, Madikizela-Mandela: This is why George Bizos was the premier anti-apartheid lawyer". News24.
12. (23 May 2012). "The Routledge Companion to Museum Ethics: Redefining Ethics for the Twenty-First Century Museum". Routledge.
13. Cowell, Alan. (9 September 2020). "George Bizos, Anti-Apartheid Lawyer Who Defended Mandela, Dies at 92". The New York Times.
14. Austin, Andrew. (7 November 2004). "Bizos' fight against apartheid". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
15. "George Bizos". South African History Online.
16. Mabuza, Ernest. (18 July 2005). "Bizos behind vicious campaign to discredit, defame me — Ayob". Business Day.
17. "Poor Ismail Ayob". Fikile-Notsikelelo. Moya. Mail & Guardian Online. (5 August 2005). link
18. "Friday Khutbar – Ummah.com – Muslim Forum".
19. (18 June 2008). "Chinese qualify for BEE".
20. {{vimeo. 284713545. Life is Wonderful Q&A
21. {{YouTube. ofNIupHJooA. Life is Wonderful trailer
22. Stadlen, Nick (Nicholas). (22 July 2018). "Unsung heroes: the men who stood trial with Mandela". The Guardian.
23. Green, Pippa. (13 June 2018). "Apartheid history: Overlooked Rivonia triallists feted in Life is Wonderful".
24. (15 June 2018). "'Life is Wonderful' screening reinforces call for such histories in curriculum".
25. ''Cape Times'', 2 June 1982.
26. Gerhart, Gail M.. (30 December 1990). "Trial by Color". The New York Times.
27. (10 September 2020). "George Bizos, Nelson Mandela's lawyer and anti-apartheid icon, dies at 92". The Guardian.
28. (14 July 2011). ""Hellenic ideals inspired anti apartheid fighter"".
29. imported from English Wikipedia
30. (15 May 2013). "Mandela Fades Amid Battles Over Who Will Claim Legacy". The New York Times.
31. (10 April 2013). "Nelson Mandela's children turn on his lawyer George Bizos". The Telegraph.
32. (4 July 2013). "Nelson Mandela family feud deepens as Mandla hits back". BBC.
33. (29 July 2013). "Nelson Mandela court case delayed after Ayob withdraws". BBC.
34. (2008). "George Bizos honorary degree citation". University of Cape Town.
35. (17 February 2011). "George Bizos".
36. (9 September 2020). "Human rights advocate George Bizos has died".
37. (9 September 2020). "George Bizos: Anti-apartheid lawyer who defended Mandela dies aged 92".
38. "In memory of George Bizos (1928-2020)".