Colonel Sir Theodorus Gustaff Truter CMG KBE CMG(13 October 187311 April 1949) was a police official. He served as the first South African Police Commissioner from the establishment of the South Africa Police in 1913, until his retirement on 30 November 1928.

Early life

He attended high school in

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

and the in

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. He then attended the

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established on ...

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, after which he passed the law exam for the State Service through private study.

Work

On the 2 December 1892, he began work as a clerk in the office of the Colonial Secretary in Cape Town. He was later promoted to the post of Chief Accounting Controller in that office. With the outbreak of the

Second Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

during 1899, he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Light Horse Regiment as a trooper. He was later commissioned as an officer. With the occupation of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, he was appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Magistrate's Court, and on 16 March 1901 as the Assistant Magistrate of Pretoria. On 1 December 1904, he was appointed as the Resident Magistrate of Ermelo and was transferred on 1 April 1908 to the same post for the Standerton region. On 1 July 1910, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Administrator of the Transvaal and began the job of reorganising the department.

Police service

With the creation of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

on 31 May 1910, each of the constituent provinces had their own separate police force, with their own Police Commissioner in charge of each one. On 15 October 1910, Truter was promoted to the rank of Colonel and installed as the Commissioner of the Transvaal police force with oversight responsibility for the other three province's forces. The promulgation of the Police Act, Act 14 of 1912, brought a new police force into being on 1 April 1913. Truter was appointed as the first Commissioner of the new

South African Police The South African Police (SAP) was the national police force and law enforcement agency in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the ''de facto'' police force in the territory of South West Africa (Namibia) from 1939 to 1981. After South Afr ...

, a post he would occupy for eighteen years. Truter famously refused the rank of General in the South African Police.

Awards

As a token of appreciation for his contribution to the amalgamation of the various forces into one Police Force, on 31 December 1917 he received the

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(GMG) as well as the rank title, “Sir”. On 3 June 1924 he was knighted with the award of the

Knight Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(KBE). * *

(CMG) * On 30 November 1928, Truter retired after a period of 36 years in the service of the state. However, this was not the end of his service, because during the Second World War (1939-45) he was appointed chief control officer of the South African Internment Camps. Furthermore, he distinguished himself as a versatile sportsman, he also served on the management of several organisations in Pretoria.

Personal life

On 25 May 1902, Truter married Henriëtta Martina Wagter in Pretoria, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. Truter died on 11 May 1949, at the age of 76.

Notes

References

{{s-end South African police officers 1873 births 1949 deaths