By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his deep sadness at the passing of educator, diplomat and National Order Counsellor of the Baobab Silver Dr. Franklin Sonn.
Sonn has died at the age of 86, his family confirmed on Saturday night.
His son, Crispin, said his father died around 15:30 while engaging in one of his favourite pastimes – watching rugby.
Sonn was an anti-apartheid campaigner and a pioneering champion of broad-based economic empowerment, who exercised his vision for a just South Africa as a board member in significant corporate businesses and as a co-founder of large black-owned enterprises.
In a statement, Ramaphosa said, “I join the Sonns and Franklins’ diverse friends and associates in mourning the loss of a leader whose life exemplified the essence of the Order of the Baobab.
“Franklin Sonn inspired the young lives entrusted to him in his early career as a teacher. He provided similar inspiration to the teachers he mobilised in the Cape Teachers’ Professional Association at a time when all sectors were mobilised against apartheid, Ramaphosa said.
“Ramaphosa has offered his condolences to Mrs Joan Sonn and children Crispin and Heather, as well the extended families and Sonn’s associates nationally and internationally.
Born in October 1939 in Vosburg, he grew up in the Eastern Cape, and later his family moved to Cape Town.
He began his career as a teacher and became principal of Spes Bona High School in Athlone, Cape Town.
Sonn was also a patron of the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival and was a trustee of the Desmond Tutu Freedom Trust.
He was President of the Cape Teachers’ Professional Association before his appointment as Rector of the then Peninsula Technikon in Cape Town, a post he held until his diplomatic posting.
Sonn served as the democratic South Africa’s first Ambassador to the United States, distinguished himself in leadership roles in education, politics, and business.
He held 12 honorary doctorates and received the National Order Counsellor of the Baobab Silver in 2008 from former President Thabo Mbeki. His family remembered him as an incredible role model, expressing gratitude for his impactful legacy.