Abraham Fischer

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Abraham Fischer
File:Abraham Fischer.jpg
Abraham Fischer in 1900
1st Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony
In office
27 November 1907 – 31 May 1910
Monarch Edward VII
George V
Governor Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams
Preceded by Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams
As Governor of the Orange River Colony
Succeeded by Louis Botha
As Prime Minister of South Africa
2nd Minister of the Interior of South Africa
In office
1912 – 6 October 1913
Monarch George V
Governor-General The Viscount Gladstone
Prime Minister Louis Botha
Preceded by Jan Christiaan Smuts
Succeeded by Hendrik Schalk Theron
Personal details
Born 1850
Green Point, Cape Town
Cape Colony
Died 16 November 1913
Cape Town, Cape Province
South Africa
Resting place Woltemade Cemetery, Cape Town
Political party Oranje Unie
Other political
affiliations
South African Party
Spouse(s) Ana Robertson[1]
Children Harry Fischer, Percy Fischer[2]
Profession Attorney, Politician

Abraham Fischer (1850–1913) was a South African statesman. He was the sole Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony in South Africa,[3] and when that ceased to exist joined the cabinet of the newly formed Union of South Africa.

Biography

He was educated at the South African College, and became a lawyer in Cape Colony, joining the bar in 1875. In 1873 he married Ana Robertson, the daughter of Scottish immigrants to the Free State.[1] He became interested in the politics of the Orange Free State, and in 1878 became a member of the Orange Free State's Volksraad. He became vice-president of the Volksraad in 1893, a member of the executive council in 1896, and took part in many colonial and interstate conferences. He headed a joint deputation from Transvaal and Orange Free State to Europe and America during the Boer War[4] to solicit support for the Boers, returning in 1903 to practice law in the newly formed Orange River Colony.

Continuing to promote the Boer cause, he helped form the Oranje Unie party in May 1906 and became its chairman; the party won the majority of seats in the colony's first elections that were held in November 1907. On 27 November, he was chosen as Prime Minister, and stayed in that position until it ceased to exist with the union of 31 May 1910. He then joined the cabinet of the Union of South Africa as Minister of Lands. He was made Privy Councillor in 1911 and became Minister of the Interior and Lands in 1912.[4]

He was the grandfather of Bram Fischer, a noted anti-apartheid activist.

References

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External image
image icon Gravestone of Abraham and his wife Ada in Woltemade Cemetery, Cape Town.