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South Africa's Main Science Council Was Founded With a Sitting Prime Minister as Its First Chair

The CSIR was established by an Act of Parliament in 1945 with sitting Prime Minister Jan Smuts as its first chairperson, and under founding president Dr Basil Schonland delivered South Africa's first radar system that same year, followed by the tellurometer in 1954 — a microwave distance-measuring device that gave South Africa a global lead in land surveying for decades.

For businesses and researchers engaging with South Africa's innovation ecosystem today, the CSIR's origin story explains its unusually broad mandate spanning defence, mining, materials science and biotechnology — several other national science councils, including SANSA, were later spun out of CSIR units.

Source: CSIR

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the CSIR's very first major technological achievement?

South Africa's first radar system, developed in 1945 under Dr Basil Schonland, the CSIR's founding president.

Which other South African science bodies originated from the CSIR?

The Human Sciences Research Council, the National Metrology Institute, and the South African National Space Agency all trace their origins to CSIR units later spun out.

Is the CSIR still government-funded and directed today?

Yes — it remains South Africa's oldest and largest public-sector science council, operating under the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation's executive authority.

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