Frederik Jacobus "Frik" van Heerden is a retired South African politician. He represented the National Party (NP) in the apartheid-era House of Assembly from 1987 to 1994 and in the National Assembly from 1994 to 1999.

Frik van Heerden
Member of the National Assembly
In office
May 1994 – April 1999
Personal details
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyNational Party

Legislative career edit

Van Heerden represented the NP in the all-white House of Assembly from 1987 to 1994.[1] In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, he was elected to represent the party in the new National Assembly.[2] He left Parliament in April 1999, shortly before the 1999 general election.[1]

Lawsuit edit

In 2004, van Heerden sued the government, challenging its policy of contributing more money to the pensions of post-1994 MPs than to the pensions of apartheid-era MPs.[3] Van Heerden purported to bring the suit on behalf of 145 other similarly placed former MPs.[1] Although the Cape High Court agreed with him that the pensions policy was discriminatory and unconstitutional,[3] the Constitutional Court struck down the lower court's ruling on appeal in Minister of Finance v Van Heerden.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Minister of Finance and Other v Van Heerden (CCT 63/03) [2004] ZACC 3; 2004 (6) SA 121 (CC); 2004 (11) BCLR 1125 (CC) ; [2004] 12 BLLR 1181 (CC)". SAFLIII. 29 July 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  2. ^ South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994. International Republican Institute. 1994. Retrieved 13 April 2023 – via Yumpu.
  3. ^ a b "Manuel being sued over MPs' pension fund". IOL. 20 February 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2023.