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Constand Viljoen

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General
Constand Viljoen
SSA SD SOE SM MMM
Viljoen in 1985
Leader of the Freedom Front
In office
1 March 1994 – 26 June 2001
Preceded byParty established
Succeeded byPieter Mulder
Member of Parliament
In office
1994–2001
Personal details
Born
Constand Laubscher Viljoen

(1933-10-28)28 October 1933[1]
Standerton, Transvaal, Union of South Africa
Died3 April 2020(2020-04-03) (aged 86)
Ohrigstad, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Resting placeBet-El farm, Ohrigstad
Political partyFreedom Front Plus (1994–2001)
Other political
affiliations		National Party (pre–1994)
Spouse
Christina "Ristie" Heckroodt
​
​
(m. 1957)​
Relations
  • Braam Viljoen (twin brother)
  • Andries Carel Viljoen 1889–1947 (father)
  • Geesie Maria Viljoen née Kotzé 1905–1990 (mother)
Children5
ResidenceBet-El
Alma materUniversity of Pretoria
OccupationSoldier, farmer and politician
ProfessionGunner, artilleryman
Civilian awardsStar of South Africa SSAG
Military service
AllegianceSouth Africa
Branch/serviceSouth African Army
Years of service1956–1985
RankGeneral
Unit4 Field Regiment
Commands
Battles/wars
Military awardsStar of South Africa SSAG Southern Cross Decoration SD South African Police Star for Outstanding Service SOE Southern Cross Medal SM Military Merit Medal MMM Pro Patria Medal (South Africa) ' Good Service Medal ' Good Service Medal ' Permanent Force Good Service Medal ' Order of the Cloud and Banner ORB

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General Constand Laubscher Viljoen SSA SD SOE SM MMM (28 October 1933 – 3 April 2020) was a South African Army officer and politician. He co-founded the Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Front) and later founded the Freedom Front (which in turn merged into the Freedom Front Plus before the 2004 election).[3] He is partly credited with having prevented the outbreak of armed violence by disaffected white South Africans prior to post-apartheid general elections.[4]

Military service

[edit]

Viljoen matriculated at Standerton High School in 1951.[5] He joined South Africa's pre-republic Union Defence Force at the Military Gymnasium in Voortrekkerhoogte for the Permanent Force Cadet Course of which he won the "Best Student" in 1952. He studied at the Military Academy from 1953 and graduated as Best Student in 1955 receiving a degree in military science at the University of Pretoria.[1] He was among others Aide de Camp to Dr EG Jansen, Battery Commander at 4 Field Regiment, Instructor at the School of Artillery and Armour, OC 14 Field Regiment in Bethlehem, OC School of Artillery. Second in Command Orange Free State Command in 1968.

Col Viljoen qualified as a paratrooper at this time in Bloemfontein. OC Army College, Director of Artillery (on the staff of the Chief of the Army) and Director Management Services (on the staff of the Chief of Defence Staff). By 1974, Viljoen had been named the South African Army's Director of General Operations, subsequently serving as the Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the South African Defence Force.[5] He was appointed as Chief of the Army in 1977 and succeeded General Magnus Malan as Chief of the South African Defence Force in 1980.[6]: xv  He was awarded the Master Gunner badge (crossed-barrels) in 1984.

Angolan service

[edit]

Viljoen was the senior SADF military officer directing Operation Savannah in 1975. He is also credited with having planned the first major airborne assault in South African military history, the Battle of Cassinga, a raid carried out against SWAPO insurgents.[7] Despite his rank, Viljoen was present during the battle,[8] offering what was described as a "swashbuckling" front-line leadership, which won him the respect of many fellow soldiers.[9]

Political career

[edit]

Viljoen is credited by some with having made overtures which helped lead to white South Africans' acceptance of universal suffrage and free elections, such as with his famous speech at the Broederbond annual assembly in Voortrekkerhoogte, saying of the black South Africans in his army, As hulle kan veg vir Suid-Afrika, kan hulle stem vir Suid-Afrika! (Afrikaans: "If they can fight for South Africa, then they can vote for South Africa!").[10]

In 1993, Viljoen and fellow retired generals formed the Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Front), an umbrella body for conservative Afrikaners. However, Viljoen reportedly had strained relationships with the leaders of other right-wing parties, who considered him too moderate.[11]

Bophuthatswana action and decision to contest elections

[edit]
Main article: Bophuthatswana coup d'état of 1994

Immediately prior to the 1994 general elections Viljoen had a force of between 50,000 and 60,000 trained paramilitary personnel at his command, with the ability to seize large sections of the country.[12][13] The force was assembled in preparation for war with uMkhonto weSizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC), as a potential contingency to protect Afrikaner interests.[14]

In March 1994, Viljoen led an effort by several thousand Volksfront militia to protect the bantustan president, Lucas Mangope, in Bophuthatswana against a coup d'état.[15] Despite being requested not to participate in the action because of extremist views, militants of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging also advanced into Bophuthatswana, sparking clashes with the security forces.[16]

Immediately after the incident, Viljoen split from the Volksfront[17] and initiated a legitimate election campaign,[18] co-founding and becoming leader of the Freedom Front (Vryheidsfront), a new political party representing white conservatives. His decision to take part in the elections is believed to have prevented armed resistance by the far right and on the occasion of his retirement from politics, the South African government recognised him for preventing bloodshed.[19]

Viljoen's decision was at least partly influenced by the mediation of his identical twin brother, Abraham Viljoen (Braam), who was an anti-apartheid activist while his brother led the military.[20][21]

In post-apartheid South Africa

[edit]

In the 1994 general election, the Freedom Front, under the leadership of Viljoen, received 2.2% of the national vote and nine seats in the National Assembly. As the VF became the strongest party outside Nelson Mandela's Government of National Unity, as the provisional 1993 Constitution required the participation of all parties over 5% of the vote, Viljoen became the de facto leader of the opposition in South Africa until the NP's departure from government in 1996, although he did not officially hold the position.

Although his supporters were at odds with the government and the ANC, Viljoen praised Mandela on the occasion of his retirement from politics in 1999, even ending his Parliamentary speech speaking in Mandela's native language, Xhosa: Go and have yourself a well-earned rest. Go rest in the shadow of a tree at your home.[22][failed verification][23]

In 2001, Viljoen handed over the leadership of the Freedom Front to Pieter Mulder and retired from politics, citing his frustration working with a parliament dominated by the ANC.[24]

After retirement

[edit]

In 2003, it emerged that Viljoen had been a target of the Boeremag paramilitary right-wing group, which considered him a traitor who had underhandedly sold out the Afrikaner people.[25]

In 2008 Viljoen, aged 74, put up what was described as a spirited fight against two would-be muggers, who were subsequently arrested.[26]

Death

[edit]

Current Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald announced on 3 April 2020 that Viljoen had died on his farm in Ohrigstad, Mpumalanga. He was 86 and was surrounded by his children. Viljoen died of natural causes.[27]

He is survived by his wife Christina Susanna Heckroodt, four sons and a daughter.[28]

Awards and decorations

[edit]
Proficiency badges
Master Gunner: 48
Master Gunner
General
Constand L. Viljoen[b]
Year: 1984
←47: WO1
Robbie Graham 		Commandant
Piet D. Uys :49→
Paratrooper Basic
(Qualification)
Basic, Static Line
Black on Thatch beige, Embossed
Small Black wings

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Only the Cunene clasp was awarded, to members who served in Angola during Operation Savannah in 1975 and 1976. Recipients of the clasp wear a button, with the letter C encircled by a wreath, on the ribbon bar.
  2. ^ Post occupied when award was made: Chief South African Defence Force

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Viljoen, Constand Laubscher". O'Malley. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  2. ^ "School of Artillery". South African Gunner (PDF). p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  3. ^ "The Who, Why and What of South Africa's Minority Afrikaner Party". The Conversation. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Gen. Constand Viljoen". Volkstaat.net. Boerevolkstaat. 16 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  5. ^ a b Segar, Sue (1 June 2014). "Former SA Defence Force Chief General Constand Viljoen Fears for Democracy in South Africa, but He Wouldn't Live Elsewhere". The Sunday Independent – via PressReader.
  6. ^ Hamann, Hilton (2001). "Introduction". Days of the Generals. Cape Town: Zebra Press (Struck Publishers). ISBN 1-86872-340-2.
  7. ^ "Apartheid Brass Blamed for Cassinga Massacre". Mail Guardian. 2 November 1998. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Battle of Cassinga Still Rages". IOL. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  9. ^ Keller, Bill (6 May 1993). "South African Rightists Rally Behind Ex-Generals". New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  10. ^ "Mandela United a Nation Seeking National Pride". Weekend Argus (Sunday Edition). 11 May 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2018 – via PressReader.
  11. ^ Waldmeir, Patti (1998). "13: Battling for the Right". Anatomy of a Miracle: The End of Apartheid and the Birth of the New South Africa. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-8135-2582-2.
  12. ^ Battersby, John; Hooper-Box, Caroline; Gifford, Gill (2 November 2002). "Soweto Bombs May Have Been Just a 'Dry Run'". IOL News. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  13. ^ Boroughs, Don (16 May 1999). "Proving That One Man Can Make a Difference: Mandela Proudly Bows out of Politics". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  14. ^ Du Preez, Max (25 March 2001). "Viljoen Reveals Just how Close SA Came to War". IOL. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  15. ^ Keller, Bill (11 March 1994). "Homeland Leader in South Africa Flees His Capital". New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  16. ^ Keller, Bill (12 March 1994). "Mixed Signals Fatal for South African Separatists". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  17. ^ Cohen, Tom (13 March 1994). "South Africa Takes Control Of Homeland – Bophuthatswana's Ruler Removed To Open Up Election". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  18. ^ Keller, Bill (13 March 1994). "A Homeland's Agony". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  19. ^ "Mbeki Thanks Constand Viljoen". News24. 15 March 2001. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  20. ^ Battersby, John (28 October 1993). "Abraham Viljoen: Longtime Campaigner For Black-White Solidarity in South Africa". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  21. ^ Kotzé, Dirk (1995). "Mediation During the Transition in South Africa". University of South Africa. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  22. ^ McGreal, Chris (27 March 1999). "Foes Pay Tribute as Mandela Begins Long Goodbye". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  23. ^ Analysis by John Blake (18 July 2021). "Analysis: How the Nelson Mandela's example of radical empathy can help the US today". CNN. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Constand Viljoen to Leave SA Parliament". BBC News. 15 March 2001. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  25. ^ "Was the TAU Part of the Boeremag Plot?". IOL. 31 October 2003. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Ex-SANDF Chief Turns Tables on Muggers". IOL. South African Press Association. 18 May 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  27. ^ du Toit, Pieter (3 April 2020). "General Constand Viljoen, Former SADF Commander and Political Leader, Dies at 86". News24. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  28. ^ du Toit, Pieter (3 April 2020). "General Constand Viljoen Passes Away Aged 86". News24. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Riddle, Samantha (3 April 2020). "Freedom Front Plus Founding Leader General Constand Viljoen Dies". MSN.com.
Party political offices
New title
New Party
 Leader of the Freedom Front
1994–2001 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the South African Defence Force
1980–1985 		Succeeded by
Chief of the South African Army
1976–1980
Preceded by GOC I South African Corps
1976–1976 		Succeeded by
Maj Gen Ian Gleeson
Preceded by Director of Artillery
1972–1973 		Succeeded by
Brig Frans van den Berg
Preceded by
Brig LL Gordon
 Director Management Services
1970–1972 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Col JW van Niekerk
 OC South African Army College
1968–1969 		Succeeded by
Preceded by OC School of Artillery
1966–1968 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Instructor Gunnery
1962–1963 		Succeeded by
Maj John Albert Reid Cox
Honorary titles
Preceded by
WO1 Robbie Graham
 48th Master Gunner
1984 		Succeeded by
Cmdt Piet Uys
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