Leonora van den Heever

Leonora van den Heever (9 July 1926 – 20 November 2025) was a High Court judge in South Africa. She was the first woman to become a judge in the country and the first female judge on South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal.

 Early life and education 
Van den Heever was born in Windhoek to her parents, Toon van den Heever and Margaretha van den Heever (née Rautenbach). She went to C&N Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje in Bloemfontein and later studied at the University of Pretoria. There, she earned her BA degree in English and Latin with honors (cum laude) and later completed her MAdegree in English, also with honors (cum laude). She first worked as a teacher at Normaalkollege in Bloemfontein. However, her father convinced her to take a temporary job as a judge’s registrar. At the same time, she studied part-time for her LLB at the University of the Orange Free State and graduated in 1951.

 Career 
Van den Heever began working as a lawyer at the Bloemfontein Bar in 1952 and became a senior lawyer in 1968. In 1969, she was appointed as a judge in the Northern Cape Division, making her the first female judge in South Africa. In 1979, she joined the Cape Provincial Division, and between 1982 and 1985, she sometimes served on the Bophuthatswana Court of Appeal.

In 1991, she became the first woman to be appointed as a permanent judge in the appellate division of the South African Supreme Court in Bloemfontein, where she worked until she retired. After retiring at 70, she continued working for some time in the Cape Provincial Division and also served for several years on the Appeal Benches in Lesotho and Swaziland.

 Other interests 
Van den Heever loved literature and wrote two children's books. She also wrote short stories under a different name for Sarie magazine. She was a trustee of the Ballet Benevolent Fund for CAPAB, a board member of the South African Youth Orchestra, and the chairperson of the South African Library Board.

 Death 
Van den Heever died on 20 November 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa at the age of 99.South Africa’s first female judge dies at 99 

 Honours and awards 
Van den Heever was honored with the Chancellor's Medal from the University of Pretoria  in 1996. She also received an honorary LLD from the University of Stellenbosch in 1997 and the Women's Bureau Achievement Award in 1987.

References

Category:People from Windhoek
Category:2025 deaths
Category:1926 births
Category:South African politicians
Category:South African lawyers
Category:Judges