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 ...
Constand Laubscher Viljoen, (28 October 1933 – 3 April 2020) was a
South African military commander and politician. He co-founded the
Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Front) and later founded the
Freedom Front (now Freedom Front Plus). He is partly credited with having prevented the outbreak of armed violence by disaffected
white South African
White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settler ...
s prior to post-
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
general elections.
Military service
Viljoen matriculated at Standerton High School in 1951.
He joined South Africa's pre-republic
Union Defence Force in 1956 upon receiving a degree in military science at the
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...
.
By 1974, Viljoen had been named 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 Servic ...
's Director of General Operations, subsequently serving as the Principal Staff Officer to the
Chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the bo ...
of the
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...
.
[ 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.]
Angolan service
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, Cassinga
Cassinga or Kassinga is a town and commune in the municipality of Jamba, province of Huíla, Angola.
It is situated on an old and important two-track road from Jamba to Huambo.
Established as an ore mine and during the Civil War allegedly ...
, a raid carried out against SWAPO
The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...
insurgents. Despite his rank, Viljoen was present during the battle, offering what was described as a "swashbuckling" front-line leadership, which won him the respect of many fellow Soldiers
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer.
Etymology
The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
.
Political career
Viljoen is credited by some with having made overtures which helped lead to white South African
White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settler ...
s' acceptance of universal suffrage and free elections, such as with his famous speech at the Broederbond
The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist and male secret society in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merwe, ...
annual assembly in Voortrekkerhoogte, saying of the black South African
Racial groups in South Africa have a variety of origins. The racial categories introduced by Apartheid remain ingrained in South African society with South Africans and the South African government continuing to classify themselves, and each o ...
s in his army, "''As hulle kan veg vir Suid-Afrika, kan hulle stem vir Suid-Afrika!''" (Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...
: "If they can fight for South Africa, then they can vote for South Africa!").
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.
Bophuthatswana action and decision to contest elections
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. The force was assembled in preparation for war with Umkhonto we Sizwe, 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 ...
(ANC), as a potential contingency to protect Afrikaner interests.
In March 1994, Viljoen led an effort by several thousand Volksfront militia to protect the bantustan
A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (n ...
president, Lucas Mangope
Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope (27 December 1923 – 18 January 2018) was the leader of the Bantustan (homeland) of Bophuthatswana. The territory he ruled over was distributed between the Orange Free State – what is now Free State – and North W ...
, in Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana (, meaning "gathering of the Tswana people"), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana ( tn, Riphaboliki ya Bophuthatswana; af, Republiek van Bophuthatswana), was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland"; an area set aside for mem ...
against a coup d'état. Despite being requested not to participate in the action because of extremist views, militants of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (), meaning "Afrikaner Resistance Movement", commonly known by its abbreviation AWB, is an Afrikaner nationalist paramilitary organisation in South Africa. Since its founding in 1973 by Eugène Terre'Blanche and ...
also advanced into Bophuthatswana, sparking clashes with the security forces.
Immediately after the incident, Viljoen split from the Volksfront and initiated a legitimate election campaign, 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.
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
The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the polici ...
while his brother led the military.
In post-apartheid South Africa
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
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
. As the VF became the strongest party outside Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
's Government of National Unity, as the provisional 1993 Constitution required the participation of all parties over 5% of the vote, Viljoen technically became the Head of the Opposition in South Africa until the NP's departure from government in 1996.
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
Xhosa may refer to:
* Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa
* Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people
See als ...
: ''Go and have yourself a well-earned rest. Go rest in the shadow of a tree at your home''.
In 2001, Viljoen handed over the leadership of the Freedom Front to Pieter Mulder
Pieter Willem Adriaan Mulder (born 26 July 1951) is a South African politician and the former leader of the Freedom Front Plus. He served as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Cabinet of President Jacob Zuma from ...
and retired from politics, citing his frustration working with a parliament dominated by the ANC.
After retirement
In 2003, it emerged that Viljoen had been a target of the Boeremag
The Boeremag (, "Boer Force") is the name by which a group of men convicted of treason in South Africa is commonly known. The South African government described them as a South African right-wing terrorist organization with white separatist ai ...
paramilitary right-wing group, which considered him a traitor who had underhandedly sold out the Afrikaner people
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casti ...
.
In 2008 Viljoen, aged 74, put up what was described as a spirited fight against two would-be muggers, who were subsequently arrested.
Death
Current Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald
Petrus Johannes "Pieter" Groenewald (born 27 August 1955) is a South African politician. He has been serving as the Leader of the Freedom Front Plus since his election in November 2016. He started his political career by being elected Mayor of St ...
announced on 3 April 2020 that Viljoen had died on his farm in Ohrigstad, Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. ...
. He was 86 and was surrounded by his children. Viljoen died of natural causes.
He is survived by his wife Christina Susanna Heckroodt, four sons and a daughter.
Awards and decorations
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Viljoen, Constand
1933 births
2020 deaths
People from Standerton
Afrikaner people
South African people of Dutch descent
South African anti-communists
Members of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa
Chiefs of the South African Army
South African military personnel of the Border War
Freedom Front Plus politicians