TIMELINE OF GIANT’S LIFE

1928 14 November

George Bizos is born and grows up in the small village of Vasilitsi, south of Koroni and Kalamata, on the Messinian Peninsula of the Peloponese, Greece.

1941

Before arriving in SA, he and his father escape Nazi-occupied Greece during World War II as refugees by crossing the Mediterranean Sea in a small fishing boat along with seven New Zealand soldiers.

1948

Bizos gains entry into the law faculty at the University of the Witswatersrand.

1950

Bizos completes his law degree at the University of Witswatersrand. 1950-1960

Bizos provides counsel to a wide range of well-known people, including Trevor Huddleston.

1963

In the Rivonia Trial, Bizos is part of the legal team that defends Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu.

1979

Bizos helps found the National Council of Lawyers for Human Rights.

1982

Bizos is appointed senior counsel at the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg.

1996

Truth and Reconciliation Commission starts. Bizos leads the team opposing applications for amnesty on behalf of the Biko, Hani, Goniwe, Calata, Mkonto, Mhlauli, Slovo and Schoon families.

2004

He represents MDM leader Morgan Tsvangirai during his treason trial in Zimbabwe.

2012

Bizos questions police on the deployment of specialised units to Marikana, at the commission of inquiry in Rustenburg.

2013 13 December

He attends Nelson Mandela’s memorial service at the University of the Witswatersrand.

2020 9 September

Dies at age 92 of natural causes at his home on Wednesday afternoon.