Sir David Tennant (10 January 1829 – 29 March 1905) was a Cape politician, statesman and the second Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Cape Colony. He was in fact the longest serving parliamentary Speaker in South African history, holding the position for nearly 22 years.
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Early life and career
David Tennant was born in Cape Town on 10 January 1829. He was the son of Hercules Tennant and Aletta Jacoba Brand. His grandfather was Alexander Tennant, one of the first British settlers at the Cape. Unusually diligent and hard-working, he read law and became an attorney of the Supreme Court at the age of 20.
In 1866 he was elected to the Cape Parliament to represent the electoral division of Piketberg and soon distinguished himself for his efficient and honest management of parliamentary procedure. When his uncle, the Speaker of Parliament Christoffel Brand retired in 1874, Prime Minister John Molteno proposed Tennant as an ideal candidate, and he was then promptly (and unanimously) elected as the new Speaker of the Cape Assembly.
Service as Speaker of Parliament (1874–1895)
The Cape Colony had only recently been brought under responsible government, and parliamentary procedure was seen as being in need of reform and streamlining to accommodate an expanding territory, a rapidly growing economy, and an increased political independence from Britain.