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Yvonne Mokgoro
Judge

Yvonne Mokgoro

Famoose for

Serving on South Africa’s first Constitutional Court.

Founding court

Born
19 October 1950
Birthplace
Galeshewe
Died
9 May 2024

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Yvonne Mokgoro

Yvonne Mokgoro was a South African judge and legal scholar who served on the Constitutional Court from 1994 to 2009.

Early life

Legal training

Studied part-time while working and raising children, earning degrees at the University of Bophuthatswana.

Career

  1. 1984 onward

    Academic work

    Taught law before further study and research posts.

  2. 1994

    Constitutional Court

    Joined the new court.

  3. 1995–2011

    Law reform

    Chaired the South African Law Reform Commission.

Selected work

Founding court

Helped establish the work of the post-apartheid Constitutional Court.

Beyond work

Mentorship

Credited Robert Sobukwe with encouraging her to study law.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: TEDTalentSearch. CC BY 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.