Comrade George Johannes, a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP), the African National Congress and for several years the New Communist Party, passed away in Rome last week. He was 78. He will be greatly missed by many comrades who knew him in the NCP.
He was a member of the NCP for several years when he lived in exile the UK and later served at the South African High Commission in London from 1998 to 2005, first as Political Counsellor and then as the Deputy High Commissioner.
After returning to South Africa, he worked at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (foreign ministry) in Pretoria as Director for the UK, Ireland and Benelux Countries.
George was a frequent visitor to Scotland, before and after the end of apartheid, and Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) is home to the George Johannes Collection archive.
George joined the African National Congress in 1970, and his varied roles included: journalist with Radio Freedom in Angola and Zambia: Administrative Secretary of the Department of Information and Publicity in Lusaka; Chairperson, ANC Youth Section, London; Member of Editorial Board of Sechaba, the ANC’s official journal; member of the Regional Political Committee of the ANC UK Region; Administrative Secretary of the ANC Office in London; and ANC representative at the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) in Budapest.
In 2007 George became Deputy Head of Mission in the German capital and was posted to Berlin. In April 2009 he was posted to Bern, where he became South African Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, the Principality of Liechtenstein, and the Holy See (the Vatican), and in February 2021 he met Pope Francis himself.
After leaving the diplomatic service slightly more than a year ago, George continued teaching at a Pontifical University in Rome. He died on 30th November 2022 at the Generalate House of the Missionaries of Mariannhill in Rome, where he had been staying with the community of Mariannhill priests and brothers from November 2021. The congregation has its foundation in South Africa.
George’s former wife, Jan, wrote that “he was living, and died, in a home for priests in Rome. Comrade George, my former husband - we were together for over 30 years - and father of my children Charlotte (grandchildren Jack and Zuri) and Daniel Johannes.
“We lived through the crucial years of struggle, and life was often tough. Banu, his wife and son Liam, 12, live in Munich. Sad news and he will be missed".
Many in the NCP have fond memories of George who they recall as a warm, humorous and charismatic comrade.
In 2007 George became Deputy Head of Mission in the German capital and was posted to Berlin. In April 2009 he was posted to Bern, where he became South African Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, the Principality of Liechtenstein, and the Holy See (the Vatican), and in February 2021 he met Pope Francis himself.
After leaving the diplomatic service slightly more than a year ago, George continued teaching at a Pontifical University in Rome. He died on 30th November 2022 at the Generalate House of the Missionaries of Mariannhill in Rome, where he had been staying with the community of Mariannhill priests and brothers from November 2021. The congregation has its foundation in South Africa.
George’s former wife, Jan, wrote that “he was living, and died, in a home for priests in Rome. Comrade George, my former husband - we were together for over 30 years - and father of my children Charlotte (grandchildren Jack and Zuri) and Daniel Johannes.
“We lived through the crucial years of struggle, and life was often tough. Banu, his wife and son Liam, 12, live in Munich. Sad news and he will be missed".
Many in the NCP have fond memories of George who they recall as a warm, humorous and charismatic comrade.
