Robert Tredgold

Sir Robert Clarkson Tredgold , KCMG , PC (2 de junio de 1899 – 8 de abril de 1977), fue un abogado, juez y político rodesiano .

Nació en Bulawayo , hijo de Clarkson Henry Tredgold , Fiscal General de Rodesia del Sur, ^{[ 1 ]} y Emily Ruth (de soltera Moffat), y era nieto del misionero John Moffat . ^{[ 2 ]} Asistió primero a la Prince Edward School y luego a las South African College Schools en Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica . ^{[ 3 ]} Fue becario Rhodes y estudió derecho en el Hertford College . ^{[ 3 ]}

En 1923 fue admitido en el colegio de abogados de Inner Temple y luego regresó a Rodesia para ejercer la abogacía. ^{[ 4 ]}

En las elecciones generales de 1934 , Tredgold fue elegido diputado por Insiza, en la Asamblea Legislativa de Rodesia del Sur, por el Partido de la Rodesia Unida de Godfrey Huggins . Ascendió rápidamente, convirtiéndose en Ministro de Justicia y Defensa en 1936, Ministro de Justicia, Defensa y Aire (1940-1943), Ministro de Minas y Obras Públicas (1938) y Ministro de Asuntos Indígenas (1942-1943).

Tredgold renunció a sus cargos y a su escaño en la Asamblea Legislativa en 1943 para aceptar un nombramiento como Juez del Tribunal Superior de Rodesia del Sur . En 1950, tras la jubilación del Presidente del Tribunal Supremo, Sir Robert Hudson , fue nombrado para sucederle como presidente del tribunal. ^{[ 4 ]} En este cargo, que desempeñó hasta 1955, fue Gobernador interino de Rodesia del Sur desde el 21 de noviembre de 1953 hasta el 26 de noviembre de 1954. En 1953, la Universidad de Witwatersrand , Johannesburgo , le otorgó a Tredgold el título honorífico de Doctor en Derecho (Hon LLD). ^{[ 4 ]}

Tredgold was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1955. In this capacity he served as acting Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 21 November 1953 to 26 November 1954, and as acting Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 24 January 1957 to February 1957. In November 1960 he resigned in protest from his Central African Federation position, criticising the actions authorised by Sir Edgar Whitehead to suppress black nationalist opposition to the Federation in Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia, through the introduction of the Law and Order (Maintenance) Bill.^[5] Tredgold noted that the bill "outrages almost every basic human right and is, in addition, an unwarranted invasion by the executive of the sphere of the courts. These are the custodians of individual rights and are my special responsibility."^[4]

Sir Robert Tredgold was named a Privy Counsellor in 1957. He retired to Marandellas with his second wife, Lady Margaret Tredgold, where he died on 8 April 1977 at 78.^[6] He had published the book The Rhodesia That Was My Life in 1968.

A widower in 1974, Tredgold married his second wife, Mrs. Margaret Helen Phear (née Baines; 1910-2012), a widow and mother of three children, originally from Aliwal North, South Africa. Together the couple researched the folklore of Rhodesia (formerly Southern Rhodesia) and published children's books based on them. They also researched edible plants, culminating in Food Plants of Zimbabwe, which she completed after his death and published in 1986.^[7]

A devout Roman Catholic, Lady Tredgold died in 2012 at age 102 in England, where she had relocated in 2004 due to the Mugabe government's policies. She was predeceased by one son, and survived by a second son and her daughter, with whom she lived in England.^[7][8]

Robert Clarkson Tredgold was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1943 New Year Honours.^[9] He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1951 New Year Honours.^[10] He was appointed a KCMG in 1955.