In a wide-ranging interview before his death a year ago, Jakes Gerwel-academic, vice-chancellor and chief aide to Nelson Mandela

BORN on January 18, 1946 in Somerset East in rural Eastern Cape, Professor Gert Johannes Gerwel was a product of historically disadvantaged schools in the Eastern Cape.

The Jakes Gerwel Foundation together with the University of the Western Cape (UWC) will host the inaugural Jakes Gerwel Commemorative Lecture.

Jakes Gerwel (1946–2012): Humble intellectual, scholar and leader

FAMILY, friends and colleagues of the late Rhodes University Chancellor Professor Jakes Gerwel, gathered in Grahamstown yesterday to commemorate the life and work of an intellectual giant who died two weeks ago.

The University of the Western Cape recently hosted a memorial service for Professor Jakes Gerwel, most eminent alumni.

‘The nation drew inspiration from its defiant transformation of itself from an apartheid ethnic institution into a proud national asset: from its concrete and manifest concern for the poor, for women and rural communities, and from its readiness to grapple with the kinds of problems that a free and democratic South Africa was to deal with later’

His name will shine at ‘Bush’ for generations. It was the 1980s that defined the Jakes we know.

Cape Town - A who’s who of dignitaries, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Graca Machel, former president FW de Klerk and Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel, were among hundreds of people who turned out on Saturday to pay tribute to activist and professor Jakes Gerwel.

The death of Rhodes University chancellor Jakes Gerwel will leave a big void in many people’s lives.

A who's who of dignitaries, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Graca Machel, former president F W de Klerk and Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel were among hundreds of people who paid tribute to activist and professor Jakes Gerwel yesterday.

Those of us privileged enough to work in the name of Nelson Mandela in his foundations and therefore under the legendary chairmanship of Professor Gert Johannes (Jakes) Gerwel, had a long-running competition.

"WE often forget the miracle of our transition, the fact that a country so deeply divided managed to negotiate a settlement and establish a democratic order, and establish a government of national unity and managed to establish national unity amongst the diverse, cultural, ethnic but particularly political groupings which we have in the country" - Jakes Gerwel, August 1998.

There were gasps of disbelief on Saturday at the memorial service for Professor Jakes Gerwel, who died in a Cape Town hospital last Wednesday, when Planning Minister Trevor Manuel announced the passing away of former chief justice Arthur Chaskalson.

Two years ago, Steve Kretzmann interviewed Professor Jakes Gerwel for the University of the Western Cape’s internal magazine, 360 Degrees.

Jakes Gerwel taught me that I did not have to buy in to a narrow definition of coloured people ON Monday we were told that Professor Jakes Gerwel had died. It was not true. He was indeed gravely ill after recovering from a heart operation.

STRUGGLE icon, story-teller and lover of cricket Jakes Gerwel received a fitting send-off yesterday from friends and family at a memorial service at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town.

Confidante to Mandela family who was like a son JAKES Gerwel’s calm and calculated approach to challenging situations was a safety net for former president Nelson Mandela’s family, a memorial service heard on Saturday.

PROFESSOR Jakes Gerwel died in the early hours of Wednesday morning at the Kuils River Hospital, his family said. The 66-year-old professor was reported to be in a critical condition on Tuesday after he underwent heart surgery.

Professor Gert Johannes "Jakes" Gerwel, who died of complications following heart surgery leaves a legacy of quiet leadership and academic excellence.

ONE of the first messages of condolences following the death of Rhodes University chancellor Professor Jakes Gerwel came from a retired academic who said he was: “a good and great man. He will be hard to replace”.

On Monday, Heinrich Gerwel will for the first time celebrate his birthday without his beloved father.

Jakes Gerwel, activist, academic and right-hand man to former president Nelson Mandela during the critical years of democratic transition, has died after heart surgery earlier this week.

In the death of Jakes Gerwel, South Africa has lost a man who played a critical role both in transforming an Apartheid-era university and steering the direction of the democratic South Africa.

FLAGS flew at half mast at Rhodes University yesterday following the death of the university long-time chancellor Professor Jakes Gerwel.

Rhodes University has paid tribute to its chancellor, Professor Jakes Gerwel, who died on Wednesday (November 28 2012).

Professor Jakes Gerwel died in the early hours of Wednesday morning at the Kuilsriver Hospital, his family said. The 66-year-old professor was reported to be in a critical condition on Tuesday after he underwent heart surgery.

Jakes Gerwel, 66, who died early on Wednesday at the Kuils River Hospital, was a brilliant intellect who was able to step from the closeted world of academia to take on squarely the practical challenges of a society in transition.