General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Solly Zacharia Shoke, (born 15 August 1956) is a South African military commander. He joined uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

, in the 1970s, and served as a field commander fighting against the South African government in the 1980s. He transferred to the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

(SANDF) when MK was incorporated into it in 1994, and served as

Chief of the South African National Defence Force The Chief of the South African National Defence Force is the most senior South African military officer and the professional Head of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The Chief is appointed by the President of South Africa. T ...

2011 to 30 May 2021.

Military career

Shoke received his education at Orlando High School, Orlando Township, in Johannesburg. Other academic qualifications include a Diploma in Human Resources Management from

Damelin Damelin is a private college founded by Benjamin Damelin in 1943. Damelin has 17 campuses and is owned by Educor (the Education Investment Corporation Limited) group. Damelin offers degrees, diplomas and other higher qualifications, but is co ...

, a Certificate in Defence Management from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

and a Certificate in Personnel Management from IPM. Shoke joined Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the

(ANC), in the 1970s. In the 1980s he served as field commander during the liberation struggle against the South African government. He obtained his military training in Angola and completed the Brigade Commanders Course in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. He became part of the underground leadership of Operation Vula in 1988. Between 1993 and 1994, Shoke followed an Intermediate Staff Course in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. In 1994 he was appointed as Director Personnel Planning of the South African Army. In 1998, Shoke commanded the

South African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...

forces during

Operation Boleas The Southern African Development Community intervention in Lesotho, codenamed Operation Boleas, also called the South African Invasion of Lesotho, was a military invasion launched by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and led by ...

in Lesotho. He was the Director Personnel Acquisition from January 1999 to October 2000, when he was promoted to the rank of major general as the Chief Director Human Resources Support. He was promoted to Chief of the Army in 2004, and became

in May 2011.

Honours and awards

* Shoke was awarded the Order of Mendi for Bravery for his work in the G5 unit of uMkhonto we Sizwe. * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shoke, Solly 1956 births Living people People from Johannesburg UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel Chiefs of the South African Army South African generals Order of Mendi for Bravery