Colin Eglin
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Colin Eglin MP |
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Eglin during WW2
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
14 April 1925 Sea Point, Cape Town |
| Died | 29 November 2013 (aged 88) |
| Political party | Democratic Alliance |
| Alma mater | University of Cape Town |
Colin Wells Eglin (14 April 1925 – 29 November 2013) was a South African politician best known for having served as national leader of the opposition from 1977–79 and 1986-87. He represented Sea Point in the South African Parliament from 1958–61 and from 1974-2004. Described by Nelson Mandela as "one of the architects of (South Africa's) democracy", Eglin played a leading role in the drafting of the country's post-apartheid constitution.
Eglin was born in 1925 in Sea Point, the son of Carl August Eglin and his wife, Elsie May Eglin. He had just turned nine when his father died in July 1934. He later wrote, "He had been ill for a long time, but had been strengthened by a deep and abiding Christian faith - and by the love and care (and equally deep faith) of his wife". His mother died in 1958.
He interrupted his studies in 1943 during the Second World War to join the South African Army. He became a full-time instructor in the anti-aircraft unit in Cape Town. He was then sent to a similar unit in Egypt and transferred to Italy. He took part in the South African assault on Monte Sole, after which the Allies broke through to the plains of Italy. After the War he remained in Italy for nine months, waiting for demobilisation. During this period he undertook extramural courses in Archaeology and Town Planning.
He graduated from the University of Cape Town with a BSc degree in quantity surveying in 1946.
Eglin was a member of Pinelands Municipal Council from 1951-1954. He was elected as a United Party Cape Province Provincial Councillor in 1954 and served until 1958. He was elected unopposed as MP for the Peninsula constituency in 1958. He left the United Party to become a founder member of the Progressive Party in 1959, losing his seat in the 1961 General Election.
Eglin became the leader of the Progressive Party in February 1971. Eglin was at first outside Parliament but he was elected for the Cape Town seat of Sea Point in the April 1974 General Election, when five other PP candidates joined Helen Suzman in Parliament.
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