The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) has announced the appointment of Naseema Fakir as its new executive director, from May 1, ending her acting period in the position.

Fakir was acting in the position following the resignation of Nicole Fritz late last year.

The foundation said Fakir had shepherded the HSF admirably as acting executive director.

“We are now delighted to be able to make her appointment permanent. We believe that Naseema will be an invigorating new leader of the HSF. Our Foundation’s engagement with South African society is constantly evolving,” the foundation said.

It described Fakir’s career as being spent in the support and extension of social justice in South Africa with a particular focus on transitional justice, migration and refugee policy, and environmental law.

Fakir spent more than a decade at the Legal Resources Centre, including a role as Regional Director of the Johannesburg office between 2011 and 2018.

The HSF noted that Fakir was also head of the refugee law clinic at Lawyers for Human Rights before she came to HSF as director of litigation in 2023.

Fakir has an LLB from the University of the Witswatersrand and is a former member of the Johannesburg Bar.

The foundation said it was looking forward to Fakir’s reimagining of HSF’s role in society.

“For the next part of our journey we look forward to Naseema’s reimagining of our role in it – always though, through a vision of a society that upholds the values of equality, freedom and dignity for all, and in a way in which the universal values of Helen Suzman shine bright,” said HSF.