Anton van Niekerk

Anton van Niekerk (MA, BTh, DPhil, Lic in Theology) is distinguished professor of Philosophy and director of the Centre for Applied Ethics at Stellenbosch University. He specialises in the fields of Bioethics, Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy of the Human Sciences. He is the course director of the postgraduate programs in applied ethics that are offered by the department and Centre for Applied Ethics.
He is the author, co-author and editor of 18 books and 145 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He also written 32 book reviews and 150 popular articles. He is rated by the National Research Foundation of South Africa as a researcher with considerable international recognition (B2), and has served as convenor for the panel of experts involved in rating researchers in philosophy and political science. He has been appointed by the Minister of Health as a member of the National Health Research Ethics Council (NHREC), the highest policy making body for research ethics in the country.
In 1980, Van Niekerk was awarded the Chancellor's Medal of Stellenbosch University for the best final year student on campus, having attained all his degrees cum laude. In 1995, he was awarded the Stals Prize for Philosophy by the SA Academy for Science and Arts.
He is a founding director and chairperson of the Board of the Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA). He has been a member of the Ethics Committee of the Medical Research Council (2003-2013) and, from 2007 to 2012, a director of the International Association of Bioethics (IAB).
He is a former President of the Philosophical Society of Southern Africa, a former editor of the South African Journal of Philosophy and a former member of the council of Stellenbosch University.
He has delivered 67 papers at international conferences and has supervised 72 completed masters and 22 completed doctoral dissertations. In 2014, he was one of only 20 professors that Stellenbosch University promoted to the rank of distinguished professor.