Jeremy Cronin
Encyclopedia
Jeremy Cronin is a South Africa
n writer, author, and noted poet
. A longtime activist in politics, Cronin is a member of the South African Communist Party
is a member of the National Executive Committee member of the African National Congress
. He presently serves as the South African Deputy Minister of Transport.
in Cape Town
, South Africa
. During adolescence
he considered the idea of entering the priesthood. After a year's military service, which he spent conscripted in the South African Navy
, in 1968 Cronin won a bursary to study at the University of Cape Town
, where he became a member of the Radical Student Society and was subsequently recruited into the (banned) South African Communist Party
(SACP).
In the early 1970s, Cronin studied his masters in Philosophy in France
and returned to South Africa, where he began lecturing in the Philosophy
department of the University of Cape Town.
unit of the SACP brought him to the attention of the South African Bureau of State Security; he was arrested on charges under the Terrorism and Internal Security Act
s and tried in the Cape Town Supreme Court in September 1976. The charges included conspiring with members of the African National Congress
(also a banned
organisation) and the SACP, and preparing and distributing pamphlets on these organisations' behalf. Cronin pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment (1976–1983), which he served in Pretoria
. His wife Anne Marie died of a brain tumour during his imprisonment.
(UDF) founded in 1983 where he worked as the editor of its theoretical journal called Isizwe (The Nation). He was also involved in various kinds of popular education, but in the late 1980s, increased harassment from the security forces forced him and his wife to leave South Africa and move first to London
, and subsequently to Lusaka
in Zambia
, where he worked closely with Joe Slovo
for the ANC/SACP alliance. He delivered the Chris Hani memorial lecture titled Why South Africa will never be like Zimbabwe in Durban on 4 May 2008. On May 10, 2009, President
Jacob Zuma
appointed him Deputy Minister of Transport.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n writer, author, and noted poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. A longtime activist in politics, Cronin is a member of the South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party is a political party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa by the joining together of the International Socialist League and others under the leadership of Willam H...
is a member of the National Executive Committee member of the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
. He presently serves as the South African Deputy Minister of Transport.
Early life
Cronin was brought up in a middle-class white Roman Catholic family in RondeboschRondebosch
Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with a medium-size shopping area, a small business district as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town.-History:...
in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. During adolescence
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
he considered the idea of entering the priesthood. After a year's military service, which he spent conscripted in the South African Navy
South African Navy
The South African Navy is the navy of the Republic of South Africa.-Formation:The South African Navy can trace its official origins back to the SA Naval Service, which was established on 1 April 1922....
, in 1968 Cronin won a bursary to study at the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
, where he became a member of the Radical Student Society and was subsequently recruited into the (banned) South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party is a political party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa by the joining together of the International Socialist League and others under the leadership of Willam H...
(SACP).
In the early 1970s, Cronin studied his masters in Philosophy in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and returned to South Africa, where he began lecturing in the Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
department of the University of Cape Town.
Activism and imprisonment
Cronin's work in the propagandaPropaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
unit of the SACP brought him to the attention of the South African Bureau of State Security; he was arrested on charges under the Terrorism and Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act
The term Internal Security Act is often given to a piece of legislation laying down regulations that enable the executive government of a jurisdiction to preserve the internal security of the nation...
s and tried in the Cape Town Supreme Court in September 1976. The charges included conspiring with members of the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(also a banned
Ban (law)
A ban is, generally, any decree that prohibits something.Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some see this as a negative act and others see it as maintaining the "status quo"...
organisation) and the SACP, and preparing and distributing pamphlets on these organisations' behalf. Cronin pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment (1976–1983), which he served in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. His wife Anne Marie died of a brain tumour during his imprisonment.
Poetry
Cronin's first book of poetry, Inside, was published in 1984 following his release from prison. He has recently published a new collection of his poetry, titled More Than A Casual Contact (2006). He wrote a poem called Motho Ke Motho Ka Batho Babang.Collected poems
- More than a Casual Contact (2006)
- Inside and Out (1999)
- Even the Dead: Poems, Parables and a Jeremiad (1997)
Politics
Following Cronin's release from prison he began working with the United Democratic FrontUnited Democratic Front (South Africa)
The United Democratic Front was one of the most important anti-apartheid organisations of the 1980s. The non-racial coalition of about 400 civic, church, students', workers' and other organisations was formed in 1983, initially to fight the just-introduced idea of the Tricameral Parliament The...
(UDF) founded in 1983 where he worked as the editor of its theoretical journal called Isizwe (The Nation). He was also involved in various kinds of popular education, but in the late 1980s, increased harassment from the security forces forced him and his wife to leave South Africa and move first to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and subsequently to Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, where he worked closely with Joe Slovo
Joe Slovo
For Joe Slovo Informal Settlement in Cape Town, see: Joe Slovo .Joe Slovo was a South African politician, long-time leader of the South African Communist Party , and leading member of the African National Congress.-Life:Slovo was born in Obeliai, Lithuania to a Jewish family who emigrated to South...
for the ANC/SACP alliance. He delivered the Chris Hani memorial lecture titled Why South Africa will never be like Zimbabwe in Durban on 4 May 2008. On May 10, 2009, President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
appointed him Deputy Minister of Transport.
Political Writings
- "The national democratic struggle and the question of transformation", 1986
- "Inside which circle, a reply to Colin Bundy, 1989
- " For the sake of our lives: Guidelines for the creation of people's self-defence units", 1991
- "Dreaming of final showdown - a reply to Jordan and Nzimande", 1992
- "A Mass-Driven Transformation", 1994
- "Challenging the neo-liberal agenda in South Africa",1995
- "Tragic lessons of the Algerian Revolution", June 1995
- "A Patriotic Bourgoisie?", May 1996
- "Masakhane and Socialism", November 1996
- "Let us build together", November 1996
- "Thinking about the Concept "National Democratic Revolution", 1996
- " We Need Transformation Not A Balancing Act", 1997
- "The New Imperialism", May 1997
- "Labour landslide and the Left", June 1997
- "More than ever - SACP perspective on the Alliance", December 1997
- "Communist Manifesto, 150 years", February 1998
- "Chris Hani", 1999
- "Transforming Legislatures into Tributes of the people", July 1999
- "Morality is relevant in economic policy", 2000
- "Review of The UDF- History of the United Democratic Front 1983-1991", 2000
- "Liberation movements, governance and bureaucratisation", November 2001
- "Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Reply to John S. Saul", December 2002
- "Here Comes The Sun - drawing lessons from Slovo's No Middle Road, January 2003
- "Preparations to celebrate the first decade of freedom, June 26 2003
- "Contemporary challenge for left progressive forces in Africa and Europe", September 2003
- "Living in Joe Slovo", 11 July 2005
- "Neo-liberalism, reformism, populism and ultra-leftism", 28 August 2005
- "The people shall govern - class struggles and post-1994 state in South Africa, 2005
- " The SACP, eighty-five years of unbroken communist struggle in South Africa", 17 July 2006
- "the role of revolutionary intellectuals", 2006
- "Joe SlovoDemocracy and Socialism",18 January 2007
- " A post-1994 South African state", 2007
- "In defence of the new ANC", 18 February 2008
- "Netshitenzhe misses the point", 12 June 2009
- "For the SACP recall of President Mbeki is not an obsession", 18 June 2008
- present economic crisis in the world capitalist system - and prospects for the left", 28 January 2009
- "Debunking Dalai Lama", 1 April 2009
- the parastatal sector!", 2 September, 2009
- "Some thoughts on the global economic crisis", 7 September 2009
- "The future of the state", 23 October 2009
- "Should we nationalise the mines?", 18 November 2009
- "Nationalisation debate...more and more curious",December 2009
- "Let us close ranks against factionalism. Let us close ranks against corruption", 17 March 2010
External links
- Interview with Jeremy Cronin by Dr Helena SheehanHelena SheehanProfessor Helena Sheehan is an academic philosopher, historian of science, and writer on communication studies, politics, and philosophical subjects...
, 2002.