Jacobus Johannes "Cobus" Dowry (7 December 1946 – 5 May 2014) was a South African politician who served in the Western Cape Executive Council from 2002 to 2009. He served in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2002 and in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament from 2002 to 2009. He represented the National Party (NP) and New National Party (NNP) until September 2005, when he crossed the floor to the African National Congress (ANC). He was an SABC newsreader before entering politics and he was involved in commercial farming after he retired from politics in 2009.
Cobus Dowry | |
|---|---|
| Western Cape Provincial Minister for Agriculture | |
| In office April 2004 – April 2009 | |
| Premier | |
| Preceded by | Johan Gelderblom |
| Succeeded by | Gerrit van Rensburg |
| Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament | |
| In office June 2002 – April 2009 | |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office May 1994 – June 2002 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 December 1946 |
| Died | 5 May 2014 (aged 67) |
| Citizenship | South Africa |
| Political party |
|
Early life and career
editDowry was born on 7 December 1946[1] and was classified as Coloured under apartheid.[2] He had a master's degree and was formerly a newsreader for the SABC.[3][4]
Legislative career: 1994–2009
editIn the 1994 general election, he was elected to an NP seat in the National Assembly.[5] In the next general election in 1999, he was re-elected his seat under the banner of the relaunched NNP.[1] However, he left during the legislative term to join the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in June 2002, swopping seats with provincial legislator Willem Doman.[6] Newly elected Premier Marthinus van Schalkwyk appointed him to succeed Doman in the Western Cape Executive Council as Provincial Minister for Local Government.[3]
In the 2004 general election, Dowry was re-elected to the provincial parliament and was retained in the Executive Council by van Schalkwyk's successor, Ebrahim Rasool, who named him as Provincial Minister for Agriculture.[7] In August of the following year, he announced that he would cross the floor to the ANC during September's floor-crossing window.[8] He remained in the agriculture portfolio when Rasool was succeeded by Lynne Brown in 2008.[9]
Farming career
editHe left the legislature after the next general election in 2009 and subsequently farmed olives on a smallholding in Tulbagh.[4] He also served as the inaugural chairperson of the South African Agricultural Association and was a director of the Agri Mega Group until November 2012.[10]
Personal life and death
editHe was married to Judith Dowry, with whom he had eight children.[4] He died on 5 May 2014, aged 67, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.[10][11]
References
edit- ^ a b "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "SA needs new instrument for reconciliation: Van Schalkwyk". SAPA. 23 February 1998. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ a b "A bed under every Red". The Mail & Guardian. 26 June 2002. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ a b c "Oudminister van landbou oorlede". Landbou (in Afrikaans). 6 May 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ "Minutes of proceedings of the Constitutional Assembly" (PDF). Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. 24 May 1994. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ "DA set to bleed in municipalities". The Mail & Guardian. 20 June 2002. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ "Rasool: Announcement of Western Cape Cabinet". Polity. 30 April 2004. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ "ANC: 3 DA: 0". The Mail & Guardian. 19 August 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ "Brown unveils new Cabinet". News24. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Farewell to Cobus Dowry" (PDF). Milk Essay. 5 (3): 9. 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ Laaks, Angelique (12 May 2014). "Milk SA board member passes away". MPO. Retrieved 20 April 2023.