Jan Christian Smuts
Prime Minister of South Africa
In office September 5, 1939 – June 4, 1948
Preceded by	James Barry Munnik Hertzog
Succeeded by	Daniel François Malan
In office September 3, 1919 – June 30, 1924
Preceded by	Louis Botha
Succeeded by	James Barry Munnik Hertzog
Born	24 May 1870(1870-05-24) Bovenplaats, near Malmesbury, Cape Colony (now South Africa)
Died	11 September 1950 (aged 93) Doornkloof, Irene, near Pretoria, South Africa
Political party	South African Party United Party
Spouse	Isie Krige
Religion	Calvinist

Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, PC, ED, KC, FRS (May 24, 1870 – September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader, and philosopher. The Prime Minister of South Africa was the Head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984 Events 1590 - Alexander Farnese 's army forces Henry IV of France to raise the siege of Paris. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. James Barry Munnik Hertzog better known as JBM Hertzog (born 3 April 1866 near Wellington Cape Colony - died 21 November 1942 in Pretoria, Daniel François Malan (22 May 1874 &ndash 7 February 1959 more commonly known as D Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Louis Botha (27 September 1862 &ndash 27 August 1919 was an Afrikaner and first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa —the forerunner of the modern James Barry Munnik Hertzog better known as JBM Hertzog (born 3 April 1866 near Wellington Cape Colony - died 21 November 1942 in Pretoria, Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Malmesbury lies in an area known as the Swartland (‘black land’ due to the dark "Renosterbos" ('rhino bush' an indigenous plant that turns black in the warm The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 with the founding of Cape Town. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Irene (pronounced "eye-REE-nee" is a small town south of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. The South African Party was a political party that existed in the Union of South Africa from 1911 to 1934 The United Party was South Africa's ruling political party between 1934 and 1948. Calvinism (sometimes called the Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology) is a theological system and an approach to the Please see " Field Marshal " for other countries which use this rank Field Marshal is the highest military rank of the United Kingdom The Order of Merit is a British and Commonwealth Order bestowed by the Monarch. The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. A privy council is a body that advises the Head of state of a nation on how to exercise their executive authority, typically but not always in the context of a An overview of South African military decorations and medals, which form part of the South African honours system. Queen's Counsel ( postnominal QC) &ndash known as King's Counsel ( KC) during the reign of a male sovereign  &ndash are The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa A statesman or stateswoman or statesperson is usually a Politician or other notable figure of State who has had a long and respected career in In addition to various cabinet appointments, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948. A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch. The Prime Minister of South Africa was the Head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984 } The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day state of the Republic of South Africa. He served as a British Field Marshal in both the First World War^[1] and the Second World War. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For other meanings see Field Marshal (disambiguation Field marshal is a military officer rank World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Smuts was for most of his life a strong supporter of segregation between the races and always opposed the enfranchisement of the black African majority in South Africa, fearing that would lead to the ultimate destruction of Western civilization in the country. Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "voting tablet" and figuratively "right to vote" probably from suffrago "hough" and originally [2] However, in 1948 his government issued the Fagan Report, which stressed the impracticability of complete racial segregation in South Africa and wanted to abolish the restrictions on African migration into urban areas. The Fagan Commission was set up by the government of South Africa in 1947 to investigate changes to the system of segregation. In this he was opposed by a majority of Afrikaners under the political leadership of the National Party who wished to deepen segregation and formalise it into a system of apartheid. The term Afrikaner people refers to white Afrikaans -speaking people who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century and are mainly of northwestern The National Party ( Afrikaans: Nasionale Party) (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of This contributed to his narrow loss in the 1948 general election. The South African general election of 1948 was held on the May 26 1948 and saw Herenigde Nasionale Party leader DF Malan call for the Prohibition

He led commandos in the Second Boer War for the Transvaal. In Military science, the term commando can refer to an individual a Military unit, or a raiding style of military operation. See also First Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The Second Boer War ( Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: This article is about the former country in Africa For the present-day country see South Africa; for the region where both are located see Southern Africa During the First World War, he led the armies of South Africa against Germany, capturing German South-West Africa and commanding the British Army in East Africa. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification German South West Africa ( German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika, DSWA) was a Colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915 when it was taken The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika was a German Colony in East Africa, including what is now Burundi, Rwanda and Tanganyika From 1917 to 1919, he was also one of five members of the British War Cabinet, helping to create the Royal Air Force. He became a Field Marshal in the British Army in 1941, and served in the Imperial War Cabinet under Winston Churchill. For other meanings see Field Marshal (disambiguation Field marshal is a military officer rank The Imperial War Cabinet was created by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in the spring of 1917 as a means of co-ordinating the British Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 He was the only person to sign the peace treaties ending both the First and Second World Wars.

One of his greatest international accomplishments was the establishment of the League of Nations, the exact design and implementation of which relied upon Smuts. The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 ^[2] He later urged the formation of a new international organisation for peace: the United Nations. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Smuts wrote the preamble to the United Nations Charter, and was the only person to sign the charters of both the League of Nations and the UN. The Preamble to the United Nations Charter is the opening ( Preamble) of the United Nations Charter. He sought to redefine the relationship between the United Kingdom and her colonies, by establishing the British Commonwealth, as it was known at the time. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located However, in 1946 the Smuts government was strongly condemned by a large majority in the United Nations Assembly for its discriminatory racial policies.

In 2004 he was named by voters in a poll held by the South African Broadcasting Corporation as one of the top ten Greatest South Africans of all time. SABC redirects here as this is the most common use of the abbreviation in English Great South Africans was a South African television series that aired on SABC3 and hosted by Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu and Denis Beckett. The final positions of the top ten were to be decided by a second round of voting, but the programme was taken off the air due to political controversy, and Nelson Mandela was given the number one spot based on the first round of voting. In the first round, Jan Smuts came sixth.

Early life

Main article: Early life of Jan Smuts

He was born on 24 May 1870, at the family farm, Bovenplaats, near Malmesbury, in the Cape Colony. Jan Christian Smuts (aka Jan Christiaan Smuts) OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS (24 May 1870 &ndash 11 September 1950 was a prominent Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS ( May 24, 1870 &ndash September See Second Boer War Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM ( May 24, 1870 &ndash September 11 Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM ( May 24, 1870 &ndash September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African and Commonwealth Jan Christian Smuts, OM ( May 24, 1870 &ndash September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African and Jan Christian Smuts (aka Jan Christiaan Smuts) OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS (24 May 1870 &ndash 11 September 1950 was a prominent Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Malmesbury lies in an area known as the Swartland (‘black land’ due to the dark "Renosterbos" ('rhino bush' an indigenous plant that turns black in the warm The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 with the founding of Cape Town. His family were prosperous, traditional Afrikaner farmers, long established and highly respected. The term Afrikaner people refers to white Afrikaans -speaking people who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century and are mainly of northwestern

Jan was quiet and delicate as a child, strongly inclined towards solitary pursuits. During his childhood, he often went out alone, exploring the surrounding countryside; this awakened a passion for nature, which he retained throughout his life.

As the second son of the family, rural custom dictated that he would remain working on the farm; a full formal education was typically the preserve of the first son. However, in 1882, when Jan was twelve, his elder brother died, and Jan was sent to school in his brother's place. Jan attended the school in nearby Riebeek West. He made excellent progress here, despite his late start, and caught up with his contemporaries within four years. He moved on to Victoria College, Stellenbosch, in 1886, at the age of sixteen. Stellenbosch (ˈstɛlənbɒs is the second oldest European settlement in the Western Cape Province, South Africa after Cape Town, and is situated

At Stellenbosch, he learned High Dutch, German, and Ancient Greek, and immersed himself further in literature, the classics, and Bible studies. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c "Classical literature" redirects here For literature in Classical languages outside the Graeco-Roman sphere see Ancient literature. Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts His deeply traditional upbringing and serious outlook led to social isolation from his peers. However, he made outstanding academic progress, graduating in 1891 with double First-class honours in Literature and Science. The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for Undergraduate degrees ( Bachelor's degrees and some Master's degrees During his last years at Stellenbosch, Smuts began to cast off some of his shyness and reserve, and it was at this time that he met Isie Krige, whom he was later to marry.

On graduation from Victoria College, Smuts won the Ebden scholarship for overseas study. He decided travel to the United Kingdom to read law at Christ's College, Cambridge. Christ’s College is one of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England Smuts found it difficult to settle at Cambridge; he felt homesick and isolated by his age and different upbringing from the English undergraduates. Worries over money also contributed to his unhappiness, as his scholarship was insufficient to cover his university expenses. He confided these worries to a friend from Victoria College, Professor JI Marais. In reply, Professor Marais enclosed a cheque for a substantial sum, by way of loan, urging Smuts not to hesitate to approach him should he ever find himself in need. ^[3] Thanks to Marais, Smuts's financial standing was secure. He gradually began to enter more into the social aspects of the university, although he retained his single-minded dedication to his studies.

During his time in Cambridge, he found time to study a diverse number of subjects in addition to law; he wrote a book, Walt Whitman: A Study in the Evolution of Personality, although it was unpublished. Walter Whitman (May 31 1819 &ndash March 26 1892 was an American poet, Essayist journalist, and humanist. The thoughts behind this book laid the foundation for Smuts' later wide-ranging philosophy of holism. Distinguish from the suffix -holism, which describes addictions

Smuts graduated in 1893 with a double First. Over the previous two years, he had been the recipient of numerous academic prizes and accolades, including the coveted George Long prize in Roman Law and Jurisprudence. ^[4] One of his tutors, Professor Maitland, described Smuts as the most brilliant student he had ever met. Frederic William Maitland ( May 28, 1850 - December 19, 1906) was an English Jurist and Historian. ^[5] Lord Todd, the Master of Christ's College said in 1970 that "in 500 years of the College's history, of all its members, past and present, three had been truly outstanding: John Milton, Charles Darwin and Jan Smuts" ^[6]

In 1894, Smuts passed the examinations for the Inns of Court, entering the Middle Temple. Alexander Robertus Todd Baron Todd, PC, OM, FRS ( 2 October 1907 &ndash 10 January 1997) was a Scottish Christ’s College is one of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. Christ’s College is one of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. John Milton ( 9 December, 1608 – 8 November, 1674) was an English Poet, Prose Polemicist and Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations to one of which every barrister in England and Wales (and those judges who were formerly barristers The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as Barristers His old college, Christ's College, offered him a fellowship in Law. However, Smuts turned his back on a potentially distinguished legal future. ^[7] By June 1895, he had returned to the Cape Colony, determined that he should make his future there.

Climbing the Ladder

Main article: Jan Smuts in the South African Republic

Smuts began to practise law in Cape Town, but his abrasive nature made him few friends. Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS ( May 24, 1870 &ndash September Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the Finding little financial success in the law, he began to divert more and more of his time to politics and journalism, writing for the Cape Times. The Cape Times is an English language morning Newspaper owned by Independent News and Media and published in Cape Town, South Smuts was intrigued by the prospect of a united South Africa, and joined the Afrikaner Bond. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The Afrikaner Bond ( Afrikaans and Dutch for "Afrikaner Union" South African Dutch: Afrikander Bond) was a political party in the By good fortune, Smuts’ father knew the leader of the group, Jan Hofmeyr; Hofmeyr recommended Jan to Cecil Rhodes, who owned the De Beers mining company. Cecil John Rhodes, PC DCL (5 July 1853 &ndash 26 March 1902 was an English -born Businessman mining Magnate, and Politician De Beers and the various companies within the De Beers Family of Companies engage in exploration for diamonds, diamond mining diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacture In 1895, Rhodes hired Smuts as his personal legal advisor, a role that found the youngster much criticised by the hostile Afrikaans press. Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in Regardless, Smuts trusted Rhodes implicitly.

When Rhodes launched the Jameson Raid, in the summer of 1895-6, Smuts was outraged. The Jameson Raid ( December 29, 1895 - January 2, 1896) was a raid on Paul Kruger 's Transvaal Republic carried out by a Betrayed by his employer, friend, and political ally, he resigned from De Beers, and disappeared from public life. Seeing no future for him in Cape Town, he decided to move to Johannesburg in August 1896. Johannesburg ( Pronounced /jō-hān'ĭs-bûrg'/ is the largest city in South Africa. However, he was disgusted by what appeared to be a gin-soaked mining camp, and his new law practice could attract little business in such an environment. Smuts sought refuge in the capital of the South African Republic, Pretoria. This article is about the former country in Africa For the present-day country see South Africa; for the region where both are located see Southern Africa Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Through 1896, Smuts’ politics were turned on their head. He was transformed from being Rhodes’ most ardent supporter to being the most fervent opponent of British expansion. Through late 1896 and 1897, Smuts toured South Africa, furiously condemning the United Kingdom, Rhodes, and anyone opposed to the Transvaal President, the autocratic Paul Kruger. An autocracy is a Form of government in which the Political power is held by a single self-appointed ruler Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger ( October 10, 1825 &ndash July 14, 1904) better known as Paul Kruger and fondly known as Oom

In April 1897, he married Isie Krige of Cape Town. Professor JI Marais, Smuts’s benefactor at Cambridge, presided over the ceremony. Twins were born to the pair in March 1898, but unfortunately survived only a few weeks.

Kruger was opposed by many liberal elements in South Africa, and, when, in June 1898, Kruger fired the Transvaal Chief Justice, his long-term political rival John Gilbert Kotzé, most lawyers were up in arms. Sir John Gilbert Kotzé (5 November 1849 - 1 April 1940 Born in Cape Town, educated there at Tot Nut van het Algemeen and the South African College. Recognising the opportunity, Smuts wrote a legal thesis in support of Kruger, who rewarded Smuts as State Attorney. In most Common law jurisdictions the Attorney General, or Attorney-General, is the main legal advisor to the government and in some jurisdictions may in addition In this capacity, he tore into the establishment, firing those he deemed to be illiberal, old-fashioned, or corrupt. His efforts to rejuvenate the republic polarised Afrikaners.

After the Jameson Raid, relations between the British and the Afrikaners had deteriorated steadily. By 1898, war seemed imminent. Orange Free State President Martinus Steyn called for a peace conference at Bloemfontein to settle each side’s grievances. The Republic of the Orange Free State (Oranje-Vrystaat Dutch: Oranje-Vrijstaat) was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa Martinus (or Marthinus) Theunis Steyn ( October 2, 1857 &ndash 28 November 1916) was a South African The Bloemfontein Conference was a meeting that took place in Bloemfontein, capital of the Orange Free State from May 31 until June 5 1899 Bloemfontein (ˈbluːmfɒnteɪn Afrikaans and Dutch for "spring of Bloem (bloom" With an intimate knowledge of the British, Smuts took control of the Transvaal delegation. Sir Alfred Milner, head of the British delegation, took exception to his dominance, and conflict between the two led to the collapse of the conference, consigning South Africa to war. Alfred Milner 1st Viscount Milner, KG, GCB, GCMG, PC (23 March 1854&ndash13 May 1925 was a controversial German-born British

The Boer War

Main article: Jan Smuts in the Boer War

On October 11, 1899, the Boer republics invaded the British South African colonies, beginning the Second Boer War. See Second Boer War Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM ( May 24, 1870 &ndash September 11 Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common See also First Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The Second Boer War ( Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: In the early stages of the conflict, Smuts served as Kruger’s eyes and ears, handling propaganda, logistics, communication with generals and diplomats, and anything else that was required.

In the second phase of the war, Smuts served under Koos de la Rey, who commanded 500 commandos in the Western Transvaal. Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey ( 22 October 1847 - 15 September 1914) known as Koos de la Rey was a Boer General Smuts excelled at hit-and-run warfare, and the unit evaded and harassed a British army forty times its size. Hit-and-run tactics is a tactical Doctrine where the purpose of the combat involved is not to seize control of territory but to inflict damage on a target and immediately President Kruger and the deputation in Europe thought that there was good hope for their cause in the Cape Colony. They decided to send General de la Rey there to assume supreme command, but then decided to act more cautiously when they realized that General de la Rey could hardly be spared in the Western Transvaal.

Consequently, Smuts left with a small force of 300 men while another 100 men followed him. By this point in the war, the British scorched earth policy left little grazing land. A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method (possibly more often referred to as a tactic but this is not entirely correct as there is a difference between One hundred of the cavalry that had joined Smuts were therefore too weak to continue and so Smuts had to leave these men with General Kritzinger. With few exceptions, Smuts met all the commandos in the Cape Colony and found between 1,400–1,500 men under arms, and not the 3,000 men as had been reported. By the time of the peace Conference in May 1902 there were 3,300 men operating in the Cape Colony. Although the people were enthusiastic for a general rising, there was a great shortage of horses (the Boers were an entirely mounted force) as they had been taken by the British. There was an absence of grass and wheat, which meant that he was forced to refuse nine tenths of those who were willing to join. The Boer forces raided supply lines and farms, spread Afrikaner propaganda, and intimidated those that opposed them, but they never succeeded in causing a revolt against the government. This raid was to prove one of the most influential military adventures of the 20th Century and had a direct influence on the creation of the British Commandos and all the other special forces which followed. The British Commandos were first formed by the British Army in June 1940 during World War II as a well-armed but non-regimental raider force employing unconventional With these practical developments came the development of the military doctrines of deep penetration raids, asymmetric warfare and, more recently, elements of fourth generation warfare. Asymmetric warfare originally referred to War between two or more belligerents whose relative military power differs significantly Fourth generation warfare (4GW is combat characterized by a blurring of the lines between War and Politics, soldier and civilian peace and conflict battlefield

To end the conflict, Smuts sought to take a major target, the copper-mining town of Okiep. With a full assault impossible, Smuts packed a train full of explosives, and tried to push it downhill, into the town, where it would bring the enemy garrison to its knees. Although this failed, Smuts had proven his point: that he would stop at nothing to defeat his enemies. Combined with their failure to pacify the Transvaal, Smuts' success left the United Kingdom with no choice but to offer a ceasefire and a peace conference, to be held at Vereeniging. A ceasefire (or truce) is a temporary stoppage of a War or any Armed conflict, where each side of the conflict agrees Vereeniging is a city in Gauteng province, South Africa, with a population of more than 350000

Before the conference, Smuts met Lord Kitchener at Kroonstad station, where they discussed the proposed terms of surrender. Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener 1st Earl Kitchener, KG, KP, GCB, OM Smuts then took a leading role in the negotiations between the representatives from all of the commandos from the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (15th - 31st May 1902). Although he admitted that, from a purely military perspective, the war could continue, he stressed the importance of not sacrificing the Afrikaner people for that independence. He was very conscious that 'more than 20,000 women and children have already died in the Concentration Camps of the enemy'. Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial He felt it would have been a crime to continue the war without the assurance of help from elsewhere and declared, "Comrades, we decided to stand to the bitter end. Let us now, like men, admit that that end has come for us, come in a more bitter shape than we ever thought. " His opinions were representative of the conference, which then voted by 54 to 6 in favour of peace. Representatives of the Governments met Lord Kitchener and at five minutes past eleven on 31 May 1902, Acting President Burger signed the Peace Treaty, followed by the members of his Government, Acting President de Wet and the members of his Government. Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener 1st Earl Kitchener, KG, KP, GCB, OM Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Christiaan Rudolf de Wet ( 7 October 1854 - 3 February 1922) was a Boer General, Rebel Leader

A British Transvaal

Main article: Jan Smuts and a British Transvaal

For all Smuts' exploits as a general and a negotiator, nothing could mask the fact that the Afrikaners had been defeated and humiliated. Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM ( May 24, 1870 &ndash September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African and Commonwealth Lord Milner had full control of all South African affairs, and established an Anglophone elite, known as Milner's Kindergarten. Alfred Milner 1st Viscount Milner, KG, GCB, GCMG, PC (23 March 1854&ndash13 May 1925 was a controversial German-born British Milner's Kindergarten is an informal reference to a group of Britons who served in the South African Civil Service under High Commissioner Alfred As an Afrikaner, Smuts was excluded. Defeated but not deterred, in January 1905, he decided to join with the other former Transvaal generals to form a political party, Het Volk (People's Party), to fight for the Afrikaner cause. Het Volk was a Transvaal Political party, established in 1905 under the leadership of Louis Botha and his deputy Jan Smuts. Louis Botha was elected leader, and Smuts his deputy. Louis Botha (27 September 1862 &ndash 27 August 1919 was an Afrikaner and first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa —the forerunner of the modern

When his term of office expired, Milner was replaced as High Commissioner by the more conciliatory Lord Selborne. Earl of Selborne, in the County of Southampton is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Smuts saw an opportunity and pounced, urging Botha to persuade the Liberals to support Het Volk’s cause. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party When the Conservative government under Arthur Balfour collapsed, in December 1905, the decision paid off. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Arthur James Balfour 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC (25 July 1848 - 19 March 1930 was a British Conservative politician and Smuts joined Botha in London, and sought to negotiate full self-government for the Transvaal within British South Africa. Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of Organization. Using the thorny political issue of Asian labourers ('coolies'), the South Africans convinced Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and, with him, the cabinet and Parliament. Coolie (variously spelled Cooly Kuli Quli Koelie etcis A historical term for manual labourers from Asia particularly China and India, in the 19th The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, GCB (7 September 1836 &ndash 22 April 1908 was a British Liberal Statesman who served as Prime Minister

Through 1906, Smuts worked on the new constitution for the Transvaal, and, in December 1906, elections were held for the Transvaal parliament. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity Despite being shy and reserved, unlike the showman Botha, Smuts won a comfortable victory in the Wonderboom constituency, near Pretoria. His victory was one of many, with Het Volk winning in a landslide and Botha forming the government. In Politics, a landslide victory (or landslide) is the victory of a candidate or Political party by an overwhelming margin in an Election To reward his loyalty and efforts, Smuts was given two key cabinet positions: Colonial Secretary and Education Secretary.

Smuts proved to be an effective leader, if unpopular. As Education Secretary, he had fights with the Dutch Reformed Church, of which he had once been a dedicated member, who demanded Calvinist teachings in schools. Dutch Reformed Church (in Dutch: Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk or NHK was one of many branches of churches coming out of the Protestant Reformation in Europe Calvinism (sometimes called the Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology) is a theological system and an approach to the As Colonial Secretary, he was forced to confront Asian workers, the very people whose plight he had exploited in London, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી moɦən̪d̪äs kəɾəmʧən̪d̪ gän̪d̪ʱi (2 October 1869 – 30 January Despite Smuts’ unpopularity, South Africa's economy continued to boom, and Smuts cemented his place as the Afrikaners’ brightest star.

During the years of Transvaal self-government, no-one could avoid the predominant political debate of the day: South African unification. Ever since the British victory in the war, it was an inevitability, but it remained up to the South Africans to decide what sort of country would be formed, and how it would be formed. Smuts favoured a unitary state, with power centralised in Pretoria, with English as the only official language, and with a more inclusive electorate. A unitary state is a State whose three Organs of state are governed Constitutionally as one single unit with one Constitutionally created An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory To impress upon his compatriots his vision, he called a constitutional convention in Durban, in October 1908. Durban (eThekwini is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the EThekwini metropolitan municipality.

There, Smuts was up against a hard-talking Orange delegation, who refused every one of Smuts' demands. The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after this nation first occupied (1900 and then annexed (1902 the independent Orange Free State in the Smuts had successfully predicted this opposition, and their objectives, and tailored his own ambitions appropriately. He allowed compromise on the location of the capital, on the official language, and on suffrage, but he refused to budge on the fundamental structure of government. As the convention drew into autumn, the Orange leaders began to see a final compromise as necessary to secure the concessions that Smuts had already made. They agreed to Smuts’ draft South African constitution, which was duly ratified by the South African colonies. Smuts and Botha took the constitution to London, where it was passed by Parliament, and signed into law by Edward VII in December 1909. Smuts' dream had been realised.

The Old Boers

Main article: Jan Smuts and the Old Boers

The Union of South Africa was born, and the Afrikaners held the key to political power, for they formed the largest part of the electorate. Jan Christian Smuts, OM ( May 24, 1870 &ndash September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African and } The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day state of the Republic of South Africa. Although Botha was appointed Prime Minister of the new country, Smuts was given three key ministries: those for the Interior, the Mines, and Defence. The Prime Minister of South Africa was the Head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984 A defence minister (or defense minister) is a Cabinet position which regulates the Armed forces in some sovereign nations Undeniably, Smuts was the second most powerful man in South Africa. To solidify their dominance of South African politics, the Afrikaners united to form the South African Party, a new pan-South African Afrikaner party. The South African Party was a political party that existed in the Union of South Africa from 1911 to 1934

The harmony and cooperation soon ended. Smuts was criticised for his over-arching powers, and was reshuffled, losing his positions in charge of Defence and the Mines, but gaining control of the Treasury. The finance minister is a Cabinet position in a Government. A minister of Finance (also called financial affairs the treasury the economy or economic This was still too much for Smuts' opponents, who decried his possession of both Defence and Finance: two departments that were usually at loggerheads. At the 1913 South African Party conference, the Old Boers, of Hertzog, Steyn, and De Wet, called for Botha and Smuts to step down. The two narrowly survived a conference vote, and the troublesome triumvirate stormed out, leaving the party for good.

With the schism in internal party politics came a new threat to the mines that brought South Africa its wealth. A small-scale miners' dispute flared into a full-blown strike, and rioting broke out in Johannesburg after Smuts intervened heavy-handedly. After police shot dead twenty-one strikers, Smuts and Botha headed unaccompanied to Johannesburg to personally resolve the situation. They did, facing down threats to their own lives, and successfully negotiating a cease-fire.

The cease-fire did not hold, and, in 1914, a railway strike turned into a general strike, and threats of a revolution caused Smuts to declare martial law. Smuts acted ruthlessly, deporting union leaders without trial and using Parliament to retrospectively absolve him or the government of any blame. This was too much for the Old Boers, who set up their own party, the National Party, to fight the all-powerful Botha-Smuts partnership. The National Party ( Afrikaans: Nasionale Party) (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of The Old Boers urged Smuts' opponents to arm themselves, and civil war seemed inevitable before the end of 1914. A civil war is a War between a State and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state In October 1914, when the Government was faced with open rebellion by Lt Col Manie Maritz and others in the Maritz Rebellion, Government forces under the command of Botha and Smuts were able to put down the rebellion without it ever seriously threatening to ignite into a Third Boer War. The Maritz Rebellion or the Boer Revolt or the Five Shilling Rebellion, occurred in South Africa in 1914 at the start of World War I, in which

Soldier, statesman, and scholar

During the First World War, Smuts (right) and Botha were key members of the British Army.

During the First World War, Smuts formed the South African Defence Force. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The South African Defence Force (SADF were the South African Armed forces from 1957 until 1994 His first task was to suppress the Maritz Rebellion, which was accomplished by November of 1914. The Maritz Rebellion or the Boer Revolt or the Five Shilling Rebellion, occurred in South Africa in 1914 at the start of World War I, in which Next he and Louis Botha led the South African army into German South West Africa and conquered it (see the South-West Africa Campaign for details). Louis Botha (27 September 1862 &ndash 27 August 1919 was an Afrikaner and first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa —the forerunner of the modern German South West Africa ( German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika, DSWA) was a Colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915 when it was taken The South-West Africa Campaign was the conquest and occupation of German South West Africa, now called Namibia, by forces from the Union of South Africa In 1916 General Smuts was put in charge of the conquest of German East Africa. German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika was a German Colony in East Africa, including what is now Burundi, Rwanda and Tanganyika While the East African Campaign went fairly well, the German forces were not destroyed. The East African Campaign was a series of battles and guerilla actions which started in German East Africa and ultimately impacted portions of Mozambique, Northern However, early in 1917 he was invited to join the Imperial War Cabinet by David Lloyd George, so he left the area and went to London. The Imperial War Cabinet was created by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in the spring of 1917 as a means of co-ordinating the British David Lloyd George 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor OM, PC (17 January 1863 &ndash 26 March 1945 was a British Statesman and the only London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. In 1918, Smuts helped to create a Royal Air Force, independent of the army. An army (from Latin Armata "act of arming" via Old French armée) in the broadest sense is the land-based Armed forces

Smuts and Botha were key negotiators at the Paris Peace Conference. Both were in favour of reconciliation with Germany and limited reparations. Smuts advocated a powerful League of Nations, which failed to materialise. The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 The Treaty of Versailles gave South Africa a Class C mandate over Namibia, which was occupied from 1919 until withdrawal in 1990. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast At the same time, Australia was given a similar mandate over German New Guinea, which it held until 1975. Both Smuts and the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes feared the rising power of Japan in the post World War 1 world. William Morris 'Billy' Hughes, CH, KC (25 September 1862 &ndash 28 October 1952 Australian politician was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia

Smuts returned to South African politics after the conference. When Botha died in 1919, Smuts was elected Prime Minister, serving until a shocking defeat in 1924 at the hands of the National Party. The National Party ( Afrikaans: Nasionale Party) (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of

While in England for an Imperial Conference in June 1920, Smuts went to Ireland and met Eamon De Valera to help broker an armistice and peace deal between the warring English and Irish nationalists. Éamon de Valera (ˈeɪmən dɛvəˈlɛrə (born Edward George de Valera) (14 October 1882 &ndash 29 August 1975 was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century Smuts attempted to sell the concept of Ireland receiving Dominion status similar to that of Australia and South Africa. A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities under sovereign authority within the British Empire and ^[8]

While in academia, Smuts pioneered the concept of holism, defined as "the tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution" in his 1926 book, Holism and Evolution. Distinguish from the suffix -holism, which describes addictions One biographer ties together his far-reaching political vision with his technical philosophy:

It had very much in common with his philosophy of life as subsequently developed and embodied in his Holism and Evolution. Small units must needs develop into bigger wholes, and they in their turn again must grow into larger and ever-larger structures without cessation. Advancement lay along that path. Thus the unification of the four provinces in the Union of South Africa, the idea of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and, finally, the great whole resulting from the combination of the peoples of the earth in a great league of nations were but a logical progression consistent with his philosophical tenets.

After Einstein studied "Holism and Evolution" soon upon its publication, he wrote that two mental constructs will direct human thinking in the next millennium, his own mental construct of relativity and Smuts' of holism. Albert Einstein ( German: ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n; English: ˈælbɝt ˈaɪnstaɪn (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955 was a German -born theoretical In the work of Smuts he saw a clear blueprint of much of his own life, work and personality. Einstein also said of Smuts that he was "one of only eleven men in the world" who conceptually understood his Theory of Relativity ^[9][10]

As a botanist, Smuts collected plants extensively over southern Africa. Albert Einstein ( German: ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n; English: ˈælbɝt ˈaɪnstaɪn (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955 was a German -born theoretical This page is about the scientific concept of relativity for philosophical or sociological theories about relativity see Relativism. He went on several botanical expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s with John Hutchinson, former Botanist in charge of the African section of the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens and taxonomist of note. John Hutchinson (7 April 1884 Blindburn - 2 September 1972 London was a renowned English Botanist, Taxonomist and author The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are extensive Gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and

Smuts and segregation

Although at times hailed as a liberal, Smuts is often depicted as a white supremacist who played an important role in establishing and supporting a racially segregated society in South Africa. White supremacy is a racist ideology based on the assertion that White people are superior to other racial groups. [3] While he thought it was the duty of whites to deal justly with Africans and raise them up in civilization, they should not be given political power. [4] Giving the right to vote to the black African majority he feared would imply the ultimate destruction of Western civilization in South Africa. [5]

Smuts was for most of his political life a vocal supporter of segregation of the races, and in 1929 he justified the erection of separate institutions for blacks and whites in tones reminiscent of the later practice of apartheid:

In general, Smuts' view of Africans was patronising, he saw them as immature human beings that needed the guidance of whites, an attitude that reflected the common perceptions of the white minority population of South Africa in his life time. Of Africans he stated that:

Smuts is often accused of being a politician who extolled the virtues of humanitarianism and liberalism abroad while failing to practice what he preached at home in South Africa. [8] This was most clearly illustrated when India, in 1946, made a formal complaint in the United Nations concerning the legalised racial discrimination against Indians in South Africa. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Appearing personally before the United Nations General Assembly, Smuts defended the racial policies of his government by fervently pleading that India's complaint was a matter of domestic jurisdiction. Membership For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly see General Assembly members However, the General Assembly condemned South Africa for its racial policies by the requisite two-thirds majority and called upon the Smuts government to bring its treatment of the South African Indians in conformity with the basic principles of the United Nations Charter. The United Nations Charter is the Treaty that forms and establishes the International organization called the United Nations. [9]

The international criticism of racial discrimination in South Africa led Smuts to modify his rhetoric around segregation. In a bid to make South African racial policies sound more acceptable to Britain he declared already in 1942 that "segregation had failed to solve the Native problem of Africa and that the concept of trusteeship offered the only prospect of happy relations between European and African". [10]

In 1948 he went further away from his previous views on segregation when supporting the recommendations of the Fagan Commission that Africans should be recognized as permanent residents of White South Africa and not only temporary workers that really belonged in the reserves. The Fagan Commission was set up by the government of South Africa in 1947 to investigate changes to the system of segregation. [11] This was in direct opposition to the policies of the National Party that wished to extend segregation and formalise it into apartheid. The National Party ( Afrikaans: Nasionale Party) (with its members sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats) was the governing party of

There is however no evidence that Smuts ever supported the idea of equal political rights for blacks and whites. The Fagan Commission did not advocate the establishment of a non-racial democracy in South Africa, but rather wanted to liberalise influx controls of Africans into urban areas in order to facilitate the supply of African labour to the South African industry. It also envisaged a relaxation of the pass laws that had restricted the movement of Africans in general. Pass laws in South Africa were designed to segregate the population and limit severely the movements of the non-white populace [12] The commission was at the same time unequivocal about the continuation of white political privilege, it stated that "In South Africa, we the White men, cannot leave and cannot accept the fate of a subject race". [13]

Second World War

After nine years in opposition and academia, Smuts returned as Deputy Prime Minister in a 'grand coalition' government under Barry Hertzog. A Deputy Prime Minister or Vice Prime Minister is in some countries a government minister who can take the position of acting Prime Minister when the James Barry Munnik Hertzog better known as JBM Hertzog (born 3 April 1866 near Wellington Cape Colony - died 21 November 1942 in Pretoria, When Hertzog advocated neutrality towards Nazi Germany in 1939, he was deposed by a party caucus, and Smuts became Prime Minister for the second time. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers He had served with Winston Churchill in World War I, and had developed a personal and professional rapport. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Smuts was invited to the Imperial War Cabinet in 1939 as the most senior South African in favour of war. The Imperial War Cabinet was created by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in the spring of 1917 as a means of co-ordinating the British On 28 May 1941, Smuts was appointed a Field Marshal of the British Army, becoming the first South African to hold that rank. Events 585 BC - A Solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Please see " Field Marshal " for other countries which use this rank Field Marshal is the highest military rank of the United Kingdom The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces.

Smuts' importance to the Imperial war effort was emphasised by a quite audacious plan, proposed as early as 1940, to appoint Smuts as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, should Churchill die or otherwise become incapacitated during the war. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom This idea was put by Sir John Colville, Churchill's private secretary, to Queen Mary and then to George VI, both of whom warmed to the idea. Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes 26 May 1867 – 24 March 1953 was the queen-empress consort of George V of the United Kingdom ^[11] As Churchill lived for another twenty-five years, the plan was never put into effect and its constitutionality was never tested. This closeness to the British establishment, to the King, and to Churchill made Smuts very unpopular amongst the Afrikaner, leading to his eventual downfall.

In May 1945, he represented South Africa in San Francisco at the drafting of the United Nations Charter. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city The United Nations Charter is the Treaty that forms and establishes the International organization called the United Nations. Just as he did in 1919, Smuts urged the delegates to create a powerful international body to preserve peace; he was determined that, unlike the League of Nations, the United Nations would have teeth. The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Smuts signed the Paris Peace Treaty, resolving the peace in Europe, thus becoming the only signatory of both the treaty ending the First World War, and that ending the Second. The Paris Peace Conference ( July 29 to October 15, 1946) resulted in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on February 10, 1947

After the war

His preoccupation with the war had severe political repercussions in South Africa. Smuts' support of the war and his support for the Fagan Commission made him unpopular amongst the Afrikaner and Daniel François Malan's pro-Apartheid stance won the National Party the 1948 general election. The Fagan Commission was set up by the government of South Africa in 1947 to investigate changes to the system of segregation. Daniel François Malan (22 May 1874 &ndash 7 February 1959 more commonly known as D The South African general election of 1948 was held on the May 26 1948 and saw Herenigde Nasionale Party leader DF Malan call for the Prohibition Although widely forecast, it is a credit to Smuts' political acumen that he was only narrowly defeated (and, in fact, won the popular vote). Smuts, who had been confident of victory, lost his own seat and retired from politics; four decades of Apartheid followed. He still hoped that the tenuous Nationalist government would fall; it remained in power until 1994.

Smuts's inauguration as chancellor of Cambridge University shortly after the election restored his morale, but the sudden and unexpected death of his eldest son, Japie, in October 1948 brought him to the depths of despair. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the In the last two years of his life, now frail and visibly aged, Smuts continued to comment perceptively, and on occasion presciently, on world affairs. Europe and the Commonwealth remained his dominant concerns. He regretted the departure of the Irish republic from the Commonwealth, but was unhappy when India remained within it after it became a republic, fearing the example this would set South Africa's Nationalists. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its His outstanding contributions as a world statesman were acknowledged in innumerable honors and medals. At home his reputation was more mixed. Nevertheless, despite ill health he continued his public commitments.

On May 29, 1950, a week after the public celebration of his eightieth birthday in Johannesburg and Pretoria, he suffered a coronary thrombosis. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Coronary thrombosis is a form of Thrombosis affecting the Coronary circulation. He died of a subsequent attack on his family farm of Doornkloof, Irene, near Pretoria, on September 11, 1950, and was buried at Pretoria on September 16. Irene (pronounced "eye-REE-nee" is a small town south of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Statue in Parliament Square, London, by Jacob Epstein

Support for Zionism

South African supporters of Theodor Herzl contacted Smuts in 1916. Parliament Square is a square outside the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in London. Sir Jacob Epstein ( 10 November 1880 – 19 August 1959) was an American-born sculptor who worked chiefly in the UK where Theodor Herzl (בנימין זאב הרצל ( Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl) (May 2 1860&ndashJuly 3 1904 was an Austrian Jewish journalist who founded modern Smuts, who supported the Balfour Declaration, met and became friends with Chaim Weizmann, the future President of Israel, in London. Balfour Declaration of 1917 (dated November 2 1917) was a Classified formal statement of Policy by the British government stating Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( Hebrew: חיים עזריאל ויצמן – November 27, 1874 &ndash November 9, 1952) was a Zionist The President of the State of Israel (נשיא המדינה Nesi HaMedina, lit In 1943 Weizmann wrote to Smuts, detailing a plan to develop Britain's African colonies to compete with the United States. During his service as Premier, Smuts personally fundraised for multiple Zionist organizations. History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the ^[12] His government granted de facto recognition to Israel on May 24, 1948 and de jure recognition on May 14, 1949. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Events 1264 - Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured in France making Simon de Montfort the ^[13] However, Smuts was deputy prime minister when the Hertzog government in 1937 passed the Aliens Act that was aimed at preventing Jewish immigration to South Africa. Aliens Act 1 of 1937 was a South African law aimed at curtailing Jewish immigration to South Africa just as it was increasing due to increased Anti-Semitic PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ The act was seen as a response to growing anti-Semitic sentiments among Afrikaners. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility [14]

He lobbied against the White Paper. The White Paper of 1939, also known as the MacDonald White Paper after Malcolm MacDonald, the British Colonial Secretary who presided over ^[14]

Several streets and a kibbutz, Ramat Yochanan, in Israel are named after Smuts. A kibbutz ( Hebrew: קיבוץ קִבּוּץ lit "gathering clustering" plural kibbutzim) is a collective community in ^[13]

Smuts' wrote an epitaph for Weizmann, describing him as the greatest Jew since Moses. An epitaph (in Greek, &mdash literally " on the gravestone " is a short text honoring a deceased person strictly speaking that inscribed on Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ "^[15]

Smuts once said:

Miscellaneous

In 1931, he became the first foreign President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. In that year, he was also elected the second foreign Lord Rector of St Andrews University (after Fridtjof Nansen). The Lord Rector of the University of St Andrews is chosen every three years by the students of the University of St Andrews. Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (October 10 1861 – May 13 1930 was a Norwegian Explorer, Scientist and Diplomat. In 1948, he was elected Chancellor of Cambridge University, becoming the first foreigner to hold that position. The Chancellors of the University of Cambridge, from about 1246 to the present day are and were Hugh de Hotton, c The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the He held the position until his death.

He is remembered also for the coining of the terms holism and holistic: abstractions not unnaturally linked to his political concerns. Distinguish from the suffix -holism, which describes addictions The earliest recorded use of the word apartheid is also attributed to him, from a 1917 speech.

After the death of Woodrow Wilson and the implementation of the Treaty of Versailles, Smuts uttered the words that perhaps best defined the Treaty negotiations "Not Wilson, but humanity failed at Paris. "

Smuts was an amateur botanist, and a number of South African plants are named after him. Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life

The international airport servicing Johannesburg was known as 'Jan Smuts Airport' from its construction in 1952 until 1994. An international airport is an Airport typically equipped with Customs and Immigration facilities to handle international flights to and from other In 1994, it was renamed to 'Johannesburg International Airport' to remove any political connotations. Geographical renaming is the act of changing the name of a geographical feature or area OR Tambo International Airport is a large Airport near the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. In 2006, it was renamed again (re-attaching political connotation), to 'Oliver Tambo International Airport'. Oliver Reginald Tambo ( 27 October 1917 - 24 April 1993) was a South African anti- Apartheid politician and a central figure The South African Government has yet to explain the reversal of policy now allowing national service facilities to be named after political figures thus fueling the perception that there is a policy of eradicating the history or memory of the South African white population.

The premier men's residence at the University of Cape Town, Smuts Hall, is named after him. The University of Cape Town ( UCT) is a Public university located on the Rhodes Estate on the slopes of Devil's Peak, in Cape Town Smuts Hall is a men's residence on the upper Campus of the University of Cape Town. Jan Smuts Residence at Rhodes University is also named after him. Rhodes University is a university in South Africa named after Cecil Rhodes.

The Libertines recorded a song titled General Smuts in reference to a pub named after him located in Bloemfontein Road, Shepherds Bush, close to QPR football club. The Libertines were an English Indie rock band Formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Pete Doherty (vocals/rhythm guitar and Carl Barât (vocals/lead It appeared as a B-side to their single Time for Heroes. " Time for Heroes " is a song by English rock band The Libertines, and is featured on their debut album Up the Bracket

In the television program, Young Indiana Jones, the protagonist at a period in the first world war in East Africa encounters a group of superb soldiers, one of whom is a General with more than a passing resemblance, and character (though not the name) of Smuts, particularly during engagements with Letto von Griem in East Africa. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, also known as The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, is an Emmy Award -winning American

In 1932, the kibbutz Ramat-Yohanan in Israel was named after him. A kibbutz ( Hebrew: קיבוץ קִבּוּץ lit "gathering clustering" plural kibbutzim) is a collective community in For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Smuts was a vocal proponent of the creation of a Jewish state, and spoke out against the rising anti-Semitism of the 1930s. The terms " Jewish state " and " homeland of the Jewish people " are used to describe the State of Israel and refer to its status as a Nation-state ^[17]

Smuts is portrayed by South African playwright Athol Fugard in the 1982 film Gandhi. Athol Fugard (born 11 June 1932 is a South African playwright novelist actor and director who writes in, best known for his political plays opposing the South African system Gandhi ( 1982) is a Biographical film about Mohandas ("Mahatma" Gandhi, who was a leader of the Nonviolent resistance movement

Wilbur Smith refers to and portrays Jan Smuts in several of his South African based novels including 'When the Lion Feeds', 'The Sound of Thunder', 'A Sparrow Falls', 'Power of the Sword' and 'Rage'. Smuts is often referred to as "Slim (Clever) Jannie" or Oubaas (Old Boss) as well as his proper names.

Honours

Awards/Decorations

• Privy Councillor
• Order of Merit
• Companion of Honour
• Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst
• Efficiency Decoration
• King's Counsel
• Fellow of the Royal Society
• Bencher of the Middle Temple
• Albert Medal

Medals, Commonwealth and South African

• Boer War Medal
• 1914-15 Star
• Victory Medal
• General Service Medal
• King George V's Jubilee Medal
• King George VI's Coronation Medal
• Africa Star
• Italy Star
• France and Germany Star
• Defence Medal
• War Medal 1939–1945
• Africa Service Medal

Foreign Decorations and Medals

• Service Medal (Mediterranean Area) (USA)
• Order of the Tower and Sword for Valour, Loyalty and Merit (Portugal)
• Grootkruis van de Orde van de Nederlandsche Leeuw (Netherlands)
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Mohamed Ali (Egypt)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer (Greece)
• Grand Cross of the Order of Léopold (Belgium)
• Croix de guerre (Belgium)
• Légion d'honneur Croix de Commandeur (France)
• La Grand Croix de l'Ordre de L'Etoile Africane (Belgium)
• King Christian X Frihedsmedaille (Denmark)
• Aristion Andrias (Greece)
• Woodrow Wilson Peace Medal

See also

• Military history of South Africa
• When Smuts Goes
• History of Kenya - Colonial History
• History of Tanzania - First Word War

Jan Smuts
I: Early life | II: The South African Republic | III: The Boer War | IV: A British Transvaal V: The Old Boers

Footnotes

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Hancock, WK and van der Poel, J (eds) - Selections from the Smuts Papers, 1886-1950, (7 vols), (1966-73)
• Spies, SB and Natrass, G (eds) - Jan Smuts – Memoirs of the Boer War Jonathan Ball, Johannesburg 1994

Secondary sources

• Armstrong, HC - Grey Steel: A Study of Arrogance, (1939), ASIN B00087SNP4)
• Clark, NL - South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, (2004), (ISBN 0 582 41437 7)
• Crafford, FS - Jan Smuts: A Biography, (1943), ISBN 1417992905
• Friedman, B - Smuts: A Reappraisal, (1975)
• Geyser, O - Jan Smuts and His International Contemporaries, (2002), (ISBN 1-919874-10-0)
• Hancock, WK - Smuts: 1. The Sanguine Years, 1870—1919, (1962)
• Hancock, WK - Smuts: 2. Fields of Force, 1919-1950, (1968)
• Hutchinson, John - A Botanist in Southern Africa, (1946), PR Gawthorn Ltd.
• Ingham, K - Jan Christian Smuts: The Conscience of a South African, (1986)
• Millin, SG - General Smuts, (2 vols), (1933)
• Reitz, D - Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War, (ISBN 0-9627613-3-8)
• Smuts, JC - Jan Christian Smuts, (1952), e-book (ISBN 978-1-920091-29-3)

External links

• "Revisiting Urban African Policy and the Reforms of the Smuts Government, 1939-48", by Gary Baines
• Africa And Some World Problems by Jan Smuts at archive.org
• Holism And Evolution by Jan Smuts