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	Gravestone of Abraham and his wife Ada in Woltemade Cemetery, Cape Town.

Abraham Fischer
Abraham Fischer
	Abraham Fischer in 1900
1st Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony
	In office; 27 November 1907 – 31 May 1910
Monarchs	Edward VII; George V
Governor	Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams
Preceded by	Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams; As Governor of the Orange River Colony
Succeeded by	Louis Botha; As Prime Minister of South Africa
2nd Minister of the Interior of South Africa
	In office; 1912 – 6 October 1913
Monarch	George V
Governor‑General	The Viscount Gladstone
Prime Minister	Louis Botha
Preceded by	Jan Christiaan Smuts
Succeeded by	Hendrik Schalk Theron
Personal details
Born	Abraham Fischer; 4 September 1850; Green Point, Cape Town; Cape Colony
Died	16 November 1913 (aged 63); Cape Town, Cape Province; South Africa
Resting place	Woltemade Cemetery, Cape Town
Political party	Orangia Unie
Other political; affiliations	South African Party
Spouse	Ada Robertson
Children	Harry Fischer, Percy Fischer
Profession	Attorney, Politician

Abraham Fischer (9 April 1850 – 16 November 1913)^[3] was a South African statesman. He was the sole Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony in South Africa,^[4] and when that ceased to exist joined the cabinet of the newly formed Union of South Africa.^[5]

Early life

Fischer was born on 9 April 1850 in Green Point, Cape Town^[6] in to Johannes Jacobus George Fischer, formerly of the Dutch East India Company, and Catherina Anna Margertha Brink.^[7]^[8]

Biography

He was educated at the South African College, and became a lawyer in Cape Colony, joining the bar in 1875.^[9] In 1873 he married Ana Robertson (1851-1927), the daughter of Scottish immigrants to the Free State.^[1] He became interested in the politics of the Orange Free State, and in 1878 became a member of the Orange Free State's Volksraad.^[9] He became vice-president of the Volksraad in 1893, a member of the executive council in 1896, and took part in many colonial and interstate conferences.^[9] He headed a joint deputation from Transvaal and Orange Free State to Europe and America during the Boer War^[10] to solicit support for the Boers, returning in 1903 to practice law in the newly formed Orange River Colony.^[9]

Continuing to promote the Boer cause, he helped form the Orangia Unie party in May 1906 and became its chairman; the party won the majority of seats in the colony's first elections that were held in November 1907.^[9] On 27 November, he was chosen as Prime Minister, and stayed in that position until it ceased to exist with the union of 31 May 1910.^[9] He then joined the cabinet of the Union of South Africa as Minister of Lands. He was made Privy Councillor in 1911 and became Minister of the Interior and Lands in 1912.^[10]^[9]

He was the father of Percy Fischer, a Judge President of the Orange Free State.^[9] He was the grandfather of Bram Fischer, a noted anti-apartheid activist.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b Clingman, Stephen (1998). Bram Fischer: Afrikaner revolutionary. David Philip Publishers. p. 8. ISBN 0-86486-677-1.
^ Clingman, Stephen (1998). Bram Fischer: Afrikaner revolutionary. David Philip Publishers. p. 9. ISBN 0-86486-677-1.
^ Rulers and Governments of the World, vol. 3- 1930 to 1975, Charles G. Allen, Bowker, 1977, p. 481
^ Clingman, Stephen (1998). Bram Fischer: Afrikaner revolutionary. David Philip Publishers. ISBN 0-86486-677-1.
^ Jacobs DS (1976). "Fischer, Abraham". In De Kock WJ, Krüger DW, Beyers CJ, Basson JL (eds.). Dictionary of South African Biography Vol I (2nd ed.). Cape Town: Tafelberg-Uitgewers. pp. 290–292. ISBN 0624008568. OCLC 1063845175.
^ Wessels, André (2006). "Fischer, Abraham (1850–1913), politician and lawyer in the Orange Free State". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/94551. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 13 July 2022. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ The Amazing Mr Fischer, Gerard Ludi and Blaar Grobbelaar, Nasionale Boekhandel, 1966, p. 1
^ Braam Fischer: The Man with Two Faces, Afrikaanse Pers, Chris Vermaak, 1963
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Standard encyclopaedia of Southern Africa / 4 Dev - For. Cape Town : Nasou. 1971. p. 541. ISBN 978-0-625-00320-4.
^ ^a ^b Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Fischer, Abraham" . Encyclopedia Americana.