Bernardus Gerhardus “Brand” Fourie

Brand Fourie was born in Wolmaransstad in 1916 and studied at the universities of Pretoria and New York. He entered public service in 1934, initially in the Auditor-General’s office, and transferred to Foreign Affairs in 1939. During the Second World War he worked in South Africa’s London high commission and served as Jan Smuts’s private secretary on overseas visits. He accompanied Smuts to the founding meeting of the United Nations. ²

Fourie later represented South Africa at the United Nations and became undersecretary for foreign affairs with responsibility for Africa. He served as secretary for information from 1963 and secretary for foreign affairs from 1966, eventually becoming the department’s director-general. His appointment as ambassador in Washington followed this long service at the center of Pretoria’s foreign policy. He presented credentials on 29 July 1982. ^{2, 1}

On 21 November 1984, Fourie received Walter Fauntroy, Mary Frances Berry, Randall Robinson, and Eleanor Holmes Norton at the embassy. The campaigners called for the release of political prisoners, negotiations to dismantle apartheid, and a change in American policy. Norton left to alert the press; the other three refused to leave and were arrested. Their action helped launch the Free South Africa Movement and a sustained campaign of protests outside the embassy. ³

Fourie subsequently chaired the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s board from July 1985 to June 1989. He died in 2008. ^{4, 2}