Judge Peet Nienaber, the Ombudsman for Long-term Insurance, is to step down on May 31 after serving in the position for more than four years.
Nienaber, who was a former judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal, will be replaced by Judge Brian Galgut, who was Deputy Judge President of the Natal Provincial Division of the High Court from 2001 until he elected to retire from active service in 2004.
Galgut attended Pretoria Boys' High School and the universities of Stellenbosch and Pretoria. He was admitted as an advocate and a member of the Pretoria Bar in 1961. He took silk in 1979 and relocated to Durban in 1985, when he was appointed as a judge of the Natal Provincial Division.
After he retired, Galgut was active in dispute resolution, not only in presiding in various arbitrations but also in acting, by agreement with the South African Revenue Service, as the facilitator between parties in appeals in terms of the Income Tax Act of 1962 and the Value Added Tax Act of 1991.
Galgut was a sportsman of note in his younger days. He earned first-team colours at cricket and golf at Stellenbosch University, and briefly played first-team rugby. He played provincial cricket.