Thomas Williams (Northern Rhodesian speaker)

Sir Thomas Williams (1893 – 25 February 1967)[1] OBE was the last Speaker of the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia.[2]

Thomas Williams
Speaker of the Legislative Council
In office 1956–1964
Preceded by	Thomas Spurgeon Page
Succeeded by	Wesley Nyirdenda
Personal details
Born	1893
Died	25 February 1967 Zambia

Biography

Born in 1893, Williams was educated at Normanton Grammar School in Yorkshire between 1905 and 1911,[3] before attending the University of Leeds.[1] He later moved to South Africa, becoming head of Johannesburg Teachers College.[1] In 1935 he was appointed Honorary Professor of Education by the University of the Witwatersrand, a position he held until 1949.[1]

After moving to Northern Rhodesia, Williams became Director of European Education in 1950.[1] He held the post until 1955, when he was appointed Clerk of the Legislative Council. The following year he was made the Speaker after the retirement of Thomas Spurgeon Page. Having already received an OBE, Williams was knighted in the 1964 Birthday Honours. Following independence on 24 October 1964, he resigned as Speaker on 14 December,[1] and was succeeded by Wesley Nyirenga.

Williams died in Zambia on 25 February 1967.[1]

References

1. Ng'ona Mwela Chibesakunda (2001) The Parliament of Zambia, p36
2. Ken Ochieng' Opalo (2019) Legislative Development in Africa: Politics and Postcolonial Legacies p214
3. The University of Leeds Review, Vol. 8–9, 1962, p175