{{Short description|South African politician (born 1941)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | party = Democratic Alliance | office1 = Member of the National Assembly | term_start1 = 23 April 2004 | term_end1 = May 2009 | citizenship = South Africa | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|11|16|df=yes}} | birth_name = Leslie Bernardus Labuschagne | constituency1 = Gauteng | term_end = 6 May 2014 | term_start = 6 May 2009 | office = Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature }}
'''Leslie Bernardus Labuschagne''' (born 16 November 1941) is a retired South African politician. He represented the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2009 and in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 2009 to 2014.
== Early life and career == Born on 16 November 1941,<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine |date=20 April 2004 |title=General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004 |url=https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/262770.pdf |magazine=Government Gazette of South Africa |location=Pretoria, South Africa |publisher=Government of South Africa |volume=466 |issue=2677 |pages=4–95 |access-date=26 March 2021}}</ref> Labuschagne is a lawyer by training.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=McMillan |first=Penelope |date=1985-09-01 |title=Business Amid Protest: Life Goes On at S. Africa Consulate |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-09-01-me-25739-story.html |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> He served in the South African foreign service during apartheid.<ref name=":1" />
== Legislative career == In the 2004 general election, Labuschagne was elected to a DA seat in the National Assembly, ranked sixth on the party's regional party list for Gauteng.<ref name=":0" /> He served as the DA's deputy spokesman on home affairs.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 July 2007 |title='It's nothing but a cheap political scoring' |work=IOL |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/its-nothing-but-a-cheap-political-scoring-362351 |access-date=16 June 2023}}</ref> He left the National Assembly after the 2009 general election, when he was elected to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature;<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |date=30 April 2009 |title=Gauteng MPLs elected April 22 |url=https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/gauteng-mpls-elected-april-22 |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Politicsweb |language=en}}</ref> he served a single term in his provincial seat too, leaving at the 2014 general election.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Les Labuschagne |url=http://www.pa.org.za/person/les-labuschagne/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=People's Assembly |language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life == In January 2006, Labuschagne was mugged at gunpoint outside a mall in Mamelodi while sitting in the car with local DA politician Doulien van der Merwe. Van der Merwe was shot.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 January 2006 |title=DA candidate shot |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/da-candidate-shot-20060108 |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{People's Assembly (South Africa)|les-labuschagne|Les Labuschagne}} * [http://rsadiplomats.blogspot.com/2017/09/reflection-on-five-years-in-parliament.html "Reflection on five years in Parliament (part 1)"] by Les Labuschagne * [http://rsadiplomats.blogspot.com/2017/09/reflections-on-five-years-in-parliament.html "Reflections on five years in Parliament (part 2)"] by Les Labuschagne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labuschagne, Les}} Category:Living people Category:1941 births Category:Afrikaner people Category:Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2004–2009 Category:Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Category:20th-century South African politicians