Leon Levy

Born in 1929, Leon Levy was part of a small group of progressive trade unionists who, in the 1950s, pushed for the formation of the first non-racial trade union federation in South Africa. These aspirations were realized in 1955 with the launch of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), where Levy was elected president and remained in that position for nine years. In 1956, along with many others, including Nelson Mandela, Leon was charged with high treason. The trial continued until 1961 when the accused were eventually acquitted. Leon was one of a large group of activists arrested after the declaration of the State of Emergency in 1960, he shared a prison van with fellow activist Helen Joseph (the only two white people who served on the Treason Trial for the full four periods of almost five years from 1956–1961). After serving a period in solitary confinement, he returned to trade union work but was forced to go into exile in the UK in 1963 after his arrest under the 90-day detention law. On his return to South Africa, after democracy dawned, he joined the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in 1999 and served as a senior full-time commissioner until 2019.