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.". O ...

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 in

Kroonstad 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 the

University 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 (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , 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 politi ...

. Later in 1980, he became Chief of the Army. Geldenhuys was promoted to

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.". O ...

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 Border War may refer to: Military conflicts *Border War or Bleeding Kansas (1854–1859), a series of violent events involving Free-Staters and pro-slavery elements prior to the American Civil War *Border War (1910–1919), border conflicts betwee ...

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 Fabian Defu Ribeiro SCOB (19 June 1933 – 1 December 1986) was a South African doctor and anti-apartheid activist who, along with his wife Florence, was assassinated by South African government forces. Ribeiro studied at the University of Fort H ...

and his wife

Florence Ribeiro Florence Barbara Ribeiro SCOB (born 03 November 1933 – died 1 December 1986) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who, along with her husband Fabian, was assassinated by South African government forces. The post-Apartheid Truth and Rec ...

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) * Cinta Presidente de la República

Chilean Grand Officer II Class

Early life

Military career

Death

Medals and decorations

References

Further reading