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Chilean Grand Officer II Class
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Johannes Jacobus (Jannie) Geldenhuys, (5 February 1935 – 10 September 2018) was a South African military commander who served as Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1985 to 1990.
Early life
Geldenhuys was born inKroonstad
Kroonstad (Afrikaans directly translated "Crown City") is the third largest city in the Free State (after Bloemfontein and Welkom) and lies two hours' drive on the N1 from Gauteng. Maokeng is an area within Kroonstad, and is occasionally used ...
on 5 February 1935. He would later matriculate from Hoërskool Voortrekker in Bethlehem, Orange Free State.
Military career
He joined the army on 4 January 1954 as a candidate officer. Geldenhuys obtained a BMil from theUniversity of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...
in 1956 before joining 1 Special Service Battalion
1 Special Service Battalion (usually abbreviated to ) is an armoured regiment of the South African Army and only one of two such in its regular force. The Regiment is based at Tempe near Bloemfontein.
It was previously known in Afrikaans as () ...
. In 1965, he was based at the South African Embassy in Luanda
Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...
, Angola
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, coordina ...
as a Vice-Consul, a position he held until 1968. He was appointed as Army Chief of Staff Intelligence and then Army Chief of Staff Operations. He went on to high command in the South African Army
The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...
, serving as commander of South West Africa Command from 1977 until 1980, when he was briefly appointed as General Officer Commanding the South West African Territorial Force
The South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) was an auxiliary arm of the South African Defence Force (SADF) and comprised the armed forces of South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1977 to 1989. It emerged as a product of South Africa's politic ...
. Later in 1980, he became Chief of the Army. Geldenhuys was promoted to general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
and assumed the position of Chief of the South African Defence Force on 31 October 1985. In this role, he took part in negotiations that brought the Border War to an end in 1989, after 23 years of fighting.
The post-Apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission
A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...
found that when Geldenhuys and General Ian Gleeson
Lieutenant General Ian Rimbault Gleeson (15 August 19347 June 2021) was a South African Army officer who served as Chief of the Defence Staff.
He graduated from the Military Academy after attending Christian Brothers College in Pretoria and j ...
were informed that the SADF and Security Branch had assassinated Dr Fabian Ribeiro and his wife Florence Ribeiro on 1 December 1986 they failed to pass this information onto the Attorney-General or the police. The commission concluded that they both "acted in an obstructive way for which they are legally responsible". As part of the Commission's hearings it was alleged that Geldenhuys had also authorised the use of SADF special forces personnel to support the Security Branch's operations within South Africa; he denied having done so.
Death
Geldenhuys died on 10 September 2018 due to the effects of Alzheimer's disease. He was survived by his wife Marié, daughters Anna-Marié and Lollie, and son Bruwer. Another son, Martin, predeceased him.Medals and decorations
* * * * * * * * * * Knight * x20px Grand Cross of Order Military Merit (Paraguay) * * x20px Grand Star of Military Merit (Chile) *_-_ribbon_bar.png.html){kind=link}
Chilean Grand Officer II Class
References
Further reading
* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Geldenhuys, Johannes 1935 births 2018 deaths Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent Chiefs of the South African Army South African military personnel of the Border War People from Kroonstad Military attachés