Joel Joffe, Baron Joffe

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix = The Right Honourable

| name = The Lord Joffe

| honorific_suffix = CBE

| office = Member of the House of Lords

| term_start = 22 February 2000

| term_end = 30 March 2015

| image = Lord Joffe 2015.png

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Joel Goodman Joffe

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1932|05|12}}

| birth_place = Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2017|6|18|1932|05|12}}

| death_place = Liddington, Wiltshire, England, UK

| nationality =

| other_names =

| occupation = Human rights lawyer

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| spouse = Vanetta Pretorius

| children = 3

| alma_mater = University of Witwatersrand

| party = Labour (2007 onwards)

| otherparty = None (crossbencher; 2000–2007)

}}

Joel Goodman Joffe, Baron Joffe, {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|commas=on|CBE}} (12 May 1932 – 18 June 2017) was a South African-born British lawyer and Labour peer in the House of Lords.

Early life and education

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to the Joffe family. His mother was born in Mandatory Palestine and his father was born in Lithuania, Joffe grew up in a Jewish household before being sent to a Catholic boarding school.{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfam.org.uk/joel-joffe|title=Joel Joffe (1932–2017)|publisher=Oxfam}} He was educated at the University of Witwatersrand (BCom, LLB 1955).

Career

He worked as a human rights lawyer 1958–65, including as defence attorney of the leadership of the ANC at the 1963-4 Rivonia Trial, helping to represent Nelson Mandela and his co-defendants.

He married the artist Vanetta Pretorius in 1962 and moved with her to the United Kingdom in 1965 after being refused entry to Australia as he was considered "undesirable". Once in the UK he worked in the financial services industry, setting up Hambro Life Assurance with Sir Mark Weinberg as well as in the voluntary sector.

Joffe chaired the Swindon and Marlborough Health Authority and the Ridgeway Hospital and was a member of The Royal Commission on the Care of the Elderly. He was associated with Oxfam in various roles between 1982 and 2001, including being its Chair 1995–2001. He was a trustee of many different charities and actively pursued a range of charitable activities through the Joffe Charitable Trust which he set up with his wife Vanetta in 1968.{{Cite web|title=|url=https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-sunday-independent/20170625/281728384524512|via=PressReader|access-date=2020-05-29}}{{Cite web|title=Joel Joffe|url=https://joffetrust.org/joel-joffe/|last=paulabs|website=Joffe Trust|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-05-29}}

He appeared on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs on 28 October 2007.Joffe was the featured guest on [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0084b4l BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs on 28 October 2007]. During the programme, Joffe mentioned his grandfather's role in writing "Hava Nagila". In the [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0084b4l programme notes], the listing for "Hava Nagila" states "Composer: Bashir Am Israelim", meaning that either this is an alias for Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, to whom Joffe was clearly referring in the programme, or the programme notes contain an erroneous entry.

In 2017 Joffe appeared along with surviving defendants at the Rivonia Trial, Denis Goldberg, Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada, along with fellow defence lawyers George Bizos and Denis Kuny, in a documentary film entitled Life is Wonderful, directed by Sir Nicholas Stadlen,{{vimeo|284713545|Life is Wonderful Q&A}} which tells the story of the trial. The title reflects Goldberg's words to his mother at the end of the trial on hearing that he and his comrades had been spared the death sentence.{{YouTube|ofNIupHJooA|Life is Wonderful trailer}}{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/22/men-rivonia-trial-nelson-mandela-1964|title=Unsung heroes: the men who stood trial with Mandela|first=Nick (Nicholas)|last=Stadlen|date=22 July 2018|access-date=23 April 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/life/arts-and-entertainment/2018-06-13-apartheid-history-overlooked-rivonia-triallists-feted-in-life-is-wonderful/|title=Apartheid history: Overlooked Rivonia triallists feted in Life is Wonderful|first=Pippa|last=Green|newspaper=Businesslive|date=13 June 2018|access-date=23 April 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://news.mandela.ac.za/News/%E2%80%98Life-is-Wonderful%E2%80%99-screening-reinforces-call-for|title='Life is Wonderful' screening reinforces call for such histories in curriculum|date=15 June 2018|website=Nelson Mandela University|access-date=23 April 2019}}

=House of Lords=

He made a life peer on 16 February 2000, being raised to the peerage as Baron Joffe, of Liddington in the County of Wiltshire.{{London Gazette |issue=55771 |date=22 February 2000 |page=1969}} Originally a crossbencher, he sat as a Labour Party peer from 18 July 2007.{{cite web |title=Lord Joffe: Parliamentary career |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/2528/career |website=MPs and Lords |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=27 November 2024}}

In February 2003 he proposed as a Private Member's Bill the "Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill",{{cite web | title = Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill [HL] | work = Public Bills before Parliament | publisher = United Kingdom Parliament | date = 8 January 2004 | url = https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200304/ldbills/017/2004017.htm | access-date = 8 November 2007}} which would legalise physician-assisted dying.{{cite news | title = Bid to legalise assisted suicide |work=BBC News | date = 20 February 2003 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2782887.stm | access-date = 8 November 2007}} After deliberation by a Lords committee, the bill was put forward again in November 2005. On 12 May 2006, the Bill was debated once again in the House of Lords and an amendment to delay its introduction by six months was carried by a margin of 148–100, halting progress of the bill in that session.{{cite news |title=Lords vote to block assisted suicide bill for terminally ill |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/may/13/uk.health |website=The Guardian |date=13 May 2006 |access-date=8 September 2018 |last1=Woodward |first1=Will }}

Joffe retired from the House of Lords on 30 March 2015.http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/retired-lords/ Retired members of the House of Lord

Honours

He was awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Open University (1995), De Montfort University (2000), University of the Witwatersrand (2001), Brunel University (2004) and the University of Bath (2006). In 2016, he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London.{{Cite web|title=Joel Joffe {{!}} South African History Online|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/joel-joffe|website=www.sahistory.org.za|access-date=2020-05-29}}

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1999 New Year Honours.{{London Gazette |issue=55354 |date=31 December 1998 |page=8 |supp=y}}

Personal life

A Jewish atheist and a humanist in his beliefs, Joel was a devoted member and patron of Humanists UK, which campaigns on ethical issues like assisted dying and for a secular state in the UK.{{cite web|url=https://humanism.org.uk/about/our-people/patrons/lord-joffe-cbe/|title=Lord Joffe CBE|work=Humanists UK|access-date=19 June 2017|date=19 June 2017}}

Joffe died on 18 June 2017 at his home in Liddington after a short illness at the age of 85.{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfam.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2017/06/statement-on-the-death-of-joel-joffe|title=Statement on the death of Lord Joffe {{!}} Press releases {{!}} Oxfam GB|website=Oxfam GB|language=en|access-date=2017-11-21}}{{cite web|url=http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/15357216.Tributes_paid_to_Lord_Joel_Joffe__who_has_passed_away_aged_85/|title=Tributes paid to Lord Joel Joffe, who has passed away aged 85|date=19 June 2017|work=Swindon Advertiser}}

His life was celebrated in many tributes and obituaries.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/26/lord-joffe-obituary|title=Lord Joffe obituary|last=Battersby|first=John|date=2017-06-26|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-11-21|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/lord-joel-joffe-passes-away-aged-85/|title=Lord Joel Joffe passes away, aged 85|last=Battersby|first=John|date=2017-06-29|work=The South African|access-date=2017-11-21|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21724872-lawyer-who-represented-nelson-mandela-was-85-obituary-joel-joffe-died-june-18th|title=Obituary: Joel Joffe died on June 18th|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2017-11-21|language=en}}{{Citation|last=SABC Digital News|title=Tributes pour in for Mandela's former lawyer Lord Joel Joffe|date=2017-06-20|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPfAVYZdNrc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/wPfAVYZdNrc |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=2017-11-21}}{{cbignore}}

Publications

Joel Joffe, The Rivonia Story, Mayibuye Books, Cape Town, 1995
Joel Joffe, The State Vs. Nelson Mandela: The Trial That Changed South Africa, Oneworld Publications, 2007