Abraham Fischer

Abraham Fischer
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
Children	Harry Fischer, Percy Fischer
Profession	Attorney, Politician

External image

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

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

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. 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 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.

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