Pius Langa | |
|---|---|
 Langa in December 2011 | |
| Chief Justice of South Africa | |
| In office 1 June 2005 – 11 October 2009 | |
| Appointed by | Thabo Mbeki |
| Deputy | Dikgang Moseneke |
| Preceded by | Arthur Chaskalson |
| Succeeded by | Sandile Ngcobo |
| Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa | |
| In office November 2001 – 31 May 2005 | |
| Appointed by | Thabo Mbeki |
| Preceded by | Hennie van Heerden |
| Succeeded by | Dikgang Moseneke |
| Deputy President of the Constitutional Court | |
| In office August 1997 – November 2001 | |
| Appointed by | Nelson Mandela |
| Preceded by | Ismail Mahomed |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as Deputy Chief Justice) |
| Justice of the Constitutional Court | |
| In office 14 February 1995 – 11 October 2009 | |
| Appointed by | Nelson Mandela |
| Preceded by | Court established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pius Nkonzo Langa 25 March 1939 Bushbuckridge, Transvaal Union of South Africa |
| Died | 24 July 2013 (aged 74) Johannesburg, Gauteng Republic of South Africa |
| Spouse |
Beauty Langa
(m. 1966; died 2009) |
| Relations | Bheki Langa (brother) Mandla Langa (brother) Ben Langa (brother) |
| Education | Adams College |
| Alma mater | University of South Africa |
Pius Nkonzo Langa SCOB (25 March 1939 – 24 July 2013) was Chief Justice of South Africa from June 2005 to October 2009. Formerly a human rights lawyer, he was appointed as a puisne judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa upon its inception in 1995. He was the Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa from November 2001 until May 2005, when President Thabo Mbeki elevated him to the Chief Justiceship. He was South Africa's first black African Chief Justice.
The son of a Zulu pastor, Langa left school as a teenager to enter the workforce. Over the next two decades, he studied for his matric certificate while working in a clothing factory and then studied for his legal qualifications while working as a civil servant in the Department of Justice. He left the civil service at the rank of magistrate in 1977, when he was admitted as an advocate. Thereafter he practised law in Durban, specialising in the defence of anti-apartheid activists accused of political offences. He was a member of the United Democratic Front and the president of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers from 1988 to 1994. During the same period, he attended the negotiations to end apartheid as a member of the Constitutional Committee of the African National Congress.
Shortly after he took silk in January 1994, Langa was appointed to the newly established Constitutional Court by post-apartheid President Nelson Mandela. In August 1997, Mandela additionally appointed him as the court's second Deputy President; his title was changed to Deputy Chief Justice after the Sixth Constitutional Amendment was passed in November 2001. On 1 June 2005, he succeeded Arthur Chaskalson as Chief Justice, a position which he held until his mandatory retirement in October 2009.
Leading the court during a period of political turmoil, Langa was widely respected for his mild and conciliatory manner, though he was also subject to criticism from both populist and conservative quarters. In particular, he is remembered for leading the court in lodging a controversial misconduct complaint against Judge John Hlophe, who was accused of attempting to interfere with the Constitutional Court's judgment in the politically sensitive matter of Thint v National Director of Public Prosecutions.