// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Frederick Sturrock? A rock star, naturally.

Frederick Sturrock
Minister without Portfolio
In office 1 December 1936 – 9 March 1938
Prime Minister	Barry Hertzog
Minister of Transport
In office 6 September 1939 – 26 May 1948
Prime Minister	Jan Christian Smuts
Preceded by	Adriaan P. J. Fourie
Succeeded by	Paul Oliver Sauer
Minister of Finance
In office 16 January 1948 – 26 May 1948
Prime Minister	Jan Christian Smuts
Preceded by	Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr
Succeeded by	Nicolaas Christiaan Havenga
Member of the House of Assembly
In office 12 June 1929 – 31 July 1950
Constituency	Turffontein
Personal details
Born	(1882-05-25)25 May 1882 Newport-on-Tay, Fife, Scotland
Died	4 August 1958(1958-08-04) (aged 76) Cape Town, South Africa
Party	South African (1929-1934) United (1934-1950)
Relatives	John Leng (grandfather) William C. Leng (great-uncle) John Leng Sturrock (brother) John A. L. Sturrock (nephew)
Education	Dundee Technical Institute
Occupation	Engineer, businessman, politician

Frederick Claud Sturrock (25 May 1882 – 4 August 1958) was a Scottish-born South African politician, businessman and engineer. He held several cabinet posts and served as a member of the House of Assembly.

Early life and family

Sturrock was born in Newport-on-Tay, Scotland, to James Sturrock and his wife, Eva Leng. He attended high school and technical college in Dundee, later working as an engineer with various manufacturing and construction companies in Scotland, Midlands and London.

Business career

Sturrock went to Johannesburg in 1907, where he founded a mining material business, which exists today as the Sturrock and Robson Group. His commercial activities expanded throughout South Africa and included shipping, coal bunkering and the citrus fruit industry.

He was a lifetime member of Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce, being its president in 1918–1919 and 1926–1927. He also served as president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of South Africa (Assocom) in 1924–1925.

Due to his experience in finance, business management and transportation, he was a member of numerous government commissions such as the Education Administration Commission (1923–1924), the Port Elizabeth Harbour Enquiry Commission of 1925, the Main Reef Road Commission (1928, of which he was chairman) and the Provincial Finance Commission (1933).

Political career

Sturrock was a member of the municipal council of Johannesburg from 8 November 1917 to 7 April 1919, serving as a chairman of the finance committee. Contesting the 1929 election as a South African Party candidate for Turffontein, he was elected as a member of the House of Assembly, holding the seat for over 21 years until his resignation due to poor health on 31 July 1950.

He was Minister without Portfolio from 1 December 1936 until 9 March 1938, when he, following the example of Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, resigned in protest against J. B. M. Hertzog's appointment of Adriaan Paulus Johannes Fourie to the Senate as a senator representing the native population.

Following the start of the Second World War and Hertzog's resignation, he joined the new Smuts' cabinet as Minister of Railways and Harbours. Because of the need for better repair facilities for ships, he oversaw the construction of the Sturrock Graving Dock in Cape Town harbour, which was named in his honour. Upon its completion in 1945, it was the largest dock of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Sturrock also served as a chairman of the Defence Authorities Committee and as a member of the Defence Advisory Committee and the Prime Minister's War Committee. He deputized Smuts as Minister of Defence during his absences abroad.

On 16 January 1948, he replaced Jan Hofmeyr as Minister of Finance, but remained in office only until the United Party's defeat in the 1948 election.

Personal life and family

Sturrock was a member of the British Institution of Mechanical Engineers and, after his emigration, the Transvaal Institute of Mechanical Engineers and upon the creation of the Union, helped establish the South African Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute in 1911 and of the Royal Society of Arts in 1945.

Having a great love for the sea, he was an official of the Royal Cape Yacht Club and the South African Yacht Racing Association. In 1941, he was made a honorary commodore of the South African Navy.

On 12 September 1912 he married Elizabeth Isobel Robertson and they had three sons. The second son, John Leng Sturrock (1915–1967), was chairman and managing director of Sturrock Ltd. and his youngest son, Anthony Michael Sturrock (1921–?), was a journalist. His maternal grandfather was John Leng, a newspaper proprietor and politician in Scotland. His brother, John Leng Sturrock, was a newspaper publisher and Scottish MP.