Len Joubert
{{Short description|South African politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| party = Democratic Alliance (since September 2005)
| office1 = Member of the National Assembly
| termstart1 = 23 April 2004
| termend1 = May 2009
| citizenship = South Africa
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1948|08|31|df=yes}}
| birth_name = Leonardus Kolbé Joubert
| otherparty = Inkatha Freedom Party (until September 2005)
}}
Leonardus Kolbé "Len" Joubert (born 31 August 1948){{cite magazine |date=20 April 2004 |title=General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004 |url=https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/262770.pdf |magazine=Government Gazette of South Africa |location=Pretoria, South Africa |publisher=Government of South Africa |volume=466 |issue=2677 |pages=4–95 |access-date=26 March 2021}} is a South African politician who served in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2009. He was a member of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) until September 2005, when he crossed the floor to the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Legislative career
Joubert was elected to the National Assembly in the 2004 general election, ranked 12th on the IFP's national party list. The following year, the Mail & Guardian reported that he was being "wooed" by the DA, another opposition party,{{Cite web |date=2005-08-25 |title=Small parties set to bleed |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2005-08-25-small-parties-set-to-bleed/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} and he indeed defected to the DA during the floor-crossing period of September 2005.{{Cite web |date=2005-09-06 |title=IFP stalwart Woods crosses to Jiyane’s Nadeco |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2005-09-06-ifp-stalwart-woods-crosses-to-jiyanes-nadeco/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} He later called floor-crossing a "revolting measure" and supported making it illegal.{{Cite web |date=2008-08-20 |title=Days numbered for floor-crossing |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2008-08-20-days-numbered-for-floorcrossing/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}
Serving the rest of his term under the DA's banner, he was the party's spokesman on justice.{{Cite web |date=2009-01-06 |title=DA: Probe into Simelane must be transparent |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2009-01-06-da-probe-into-simelane-must-be-transparent/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} In that capacity, he sponsored a private member's bill to amend the National Prosecuting Authority Act in order to legislate a role for the Judicial Service Commission in appointing the National Director of Public Prosecutions, which in terms of existing law was a presidential prerogative.{{Cite web |date=2009-02-13 |title=Free the prosecutor |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2009-02-13-free-the-prosecutor/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}
Later career
In the 2009 general election, Joubert stood for re-election to the National Assembly, but he was listed third on the DA's party list for Mpumalanga{{Cite web |date=6 April 2009 |title=2009 National and Provincial Election – Final Candidate Lists |url=https://www.elections.org.za/content/uploadedFiles/2009%20National%20and%20Provincial%20Election%20candidate%20lists.pdf?n=9151 |access-date=27 May 2023 |website=Electoral Commission of South Africa}} and the party won only two seats in the province. In 2021, he was shortlisted for appointment to the South African Human Rights Commission.{{Cite news |date=10 March 2021 |title=Committee on Justice and Correctional Services concludes interviews for positions on SAHRC |work=Parliament of South Africa |url=https://www.parliament.gov.za/news/committee-justice-and-correctional-services-concludes-interviews-positions-sahrc |access-date=14 June 2023}}