South Africa Appoints First Female Chief Justice

In Summary

• President Cyril Ramaphosa named Mandisa Maya, the current deputy chief justice, as the new chief justice, starting her term on Sept. 1.
• Maya, 60, previously served as the judge president of the Supreme Court of Appeal and was the first Black woman appointed to this position.
• She was nominated in February, interviewed by the Judicial Services Commission in May, and recommended as a significant milestone for the country.
• Maya, who grew up in Eastern Cape, South Africa, won a Fulbright Scholarship in 1989 to study law at Duke University, a rare achievement during apartheid.

Pretoria, South Africa- On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the appointment of Mandisa Maya as South Africa’s first female chief justice. Maya, who currently holds the position of deputy chief justice, will commence her term on September 1, succeeding Chief Justice Raymond Zondo as the head of the Constitutional Court upon his retirement.

Maya, 60, has an impressive judicial career, having previously served as the judge president of the Supreme Court of Appeal, South Africa’s second-highest court. She holds the distinction of being the first Black woman to be appointed both as a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal and later as its deputy president and president.

Ramaphosa had nominated Maya for the position of chief justice in February, and she was subsequently interviewed by the Judicial Services Commission in May. The commission endorsed her appointment, recognizing it as a significant milestone for the nation, according to a statement from Ramaphosa.

Maya’s journey to the apex of South Africa's judiciary is notable. She grew up in a rural area of the Eastern Cape province and earned a Fulbright Scholarship in 1989 to pursue a Master’s degree in law at Duke University in the United States—a rare accomplishment for a young Black woman during the apartheid era.

In a 2017 interview, Maya revealed that she initially intended to study medicine but decided to switch to law on her first day at university after finding a medical textbook uninspiring.

South Africa has had a series of male chief justices since the establishment of the post in 1910, during the British colonial period.

Maya’s appointment marks her as the eighth chief justice since South Africa transitioned to a democracy with the end of apartheid in 1994.