University of Pretoria - Alumni and People

Alumni and People

This section requires expansion.

Main article: List of University of Pretoria alumni See also: List of Vice-Chancellors and Chancellors of the University of Pretoria

The university in its more than a century of academic service has delivered more than 200 000 alumni.

Alumni in commerce include several CEO's of JSE Top 50 and American Fortune 500 companies. Dr. Anton Rupert was a South African entrepreneur, businessman, conservationist and founder of the Rembrandt Group, which eventually split up into Remgro, Richemont, the second-largest luxury goods company in the world by turnover, and Reinet Investments, as of January 2008 the largest component of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. He was honoured as Tukkie of the century, former chancellor of the university, and a major benefactor of the university. Marius Kloppers is the international CEO of BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company and named by CNN Money as the world's 18th most powerful person in business. Johan De Nysschen was the former President at Audi Japan and is the current President of Audi America. Russell Loubser is a former CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and a member of the team that started the futures industry in South Africa in 1987. Meyer Kahn is the Chairman of SAB Miller the second largest brewer in the world.

Alumni in law include several Judges of the High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court as well as serving as United Nations Special Rapporteurs and the United Nations International Law Commission. Johann van der Westhuizen is a judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed to the bench in 2004 by Thabo Mbeki. He was previously a professor a the University of Pretoria Faculty of Law and the founding director of the university's Centre for Human Rights. He currently sits on the board of the Centre for Human Rights and the University of Pretoria Council. Johann Kriegler is a former Constitutional Court and Appeal Court judge from South Africa. Christof Heyns is a former Director (1999–2006) of the Centre for Human Rights, is a Professor of Human Rights Law, Co-director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria and United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Dire Tladi is a former Principal State Law Adviser for International Law for the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, legal advisor to the South Africa Mission to the United Nations and member of the United Nations International Law Commission.

Alumni in divinity include several theologians. Albert Geyser was a South African cleric, scholar and anti-apartheid theologian. He was one of the first Afrikaner nationalists to speak out against the Broederbond and apartheid on theological grounds. He is also known for his work as one of a number of scholars involved in the first annotated edition (1953–1958) of the Bible in Afrikaans. Johan Heyns, was an influential Afrikaner Calvinist theologian and moderator of the general synod of the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK). He was assassinated, although his murder was never officially resolved it is widely believed that it was directly related to his criticism of Apartheid. Nelson Mandela paid homage to him as a martyr for his country and a soldier of peace.

Alumni include several sporting personalities. South Africa national rugby union team member's (Springboks) associated with the university include coach Heyneke Meyer and former Springbok captains Victor Matfield, Wynand Claassen, Naas Botha and Joost van der Westhuizen. Other notable sporting personalities include Caster Semenya and Oscar Pistorius, who will become the first double amputee runner at an Olympic Games when he competes at the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

• Graduate with a banner of the TUC
• Graduation ceremony of the University of Pretoria in 1918
• Graduation ceremony of the University of Pretoria in 1920
• Graduation ceremony of the University of Pretoria in 1922