Allan Boesak: activist cleric

Abstract

South African cleric, academic, author, anti-apartheid activist and politician Allan Aubrey Boesak stepped into the national political arena in early 1983 after he called for the formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in response to the apartheid regime's introduction of a tricameral Parliament for whites, Indians and coloureds that excluded black Africans. The cleric thereafter occupied leading positions in the UDF and its various structures, as well as international religious bodies such as the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) that adopted an anti-apartheid stance. He initiated and led many anti-apartheid campaigns during the 1980s. However, his political star waned dramatically following revelations of extra-marital affairs and misuse of funds that had been donated for the benefit of victims of apartheid.