Constand Viljoen

General Constand Laubscher Viljoen, SSA, SD, SOE, SM, MMM (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).[2] He is partly credited with having prevented the outbreak of armed violence by disaffected white South Africans prior to post-apartheid general elections.[3]


Constand Viljoen

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
PresidentNelson Mandela
Thabo Mbeki
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, Limpopo, South Africa
Political partyFreedom Front Plus (1994–2001)
Other political
affiliations
National Party (pre-1994)
Spouse(s)Christina "Ristie" Heckroodt
RelationsBraam Viljoen (twin brother)
Children5
Alma materUniversity of Pretoria
ProfessionGunner
Military service
AllegianceSouth Africa
Branch/serviceSouth African Army
Years of service1956–1985
RankGeneral
Unit4 Field Regiment
CommandsChief of the South African Defence Force
Chief of the Army
Director General Operations
South African Army College
School of Artillery
Director of Artillery
Battles/warsSouth African Border War
Operation Savannah
AwardsStar of South Africa
Southern Cross Decoration
South African Police Star for Outstanding Service
Southern Cross Medal
Military Merit Medal
Order of the Cloud and Banner with Grand Cordon (China)

Military service

Viljoen matriculated at Standerton High School in 1951.[4] He joined South Africa's pre-republic Union Defence Force in 1956 upon receiving a degree in military science at the University of Pretoria.[1] 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.[4] 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.[5]:xv

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, a raid carried out against SWAPO insurgents.[6] Despite his rank, Viljoen was present during the battle,[7] offering what was described as a "swashbuckling" front-line leadership, which won him the respect of many fellow Afrikaners.[8]

Political career

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!").[9]

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.[10]

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.[11][12] The force was assembled in preparation for war with Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC), as a potential contingency to protect Afrikaner interests.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15]

Immediately after the incident, Viljoen split from the Volksfront[16] and initiated a legitimate election campaign,[17] 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.[18]

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.[19][20]

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. It became the strongest party outside Nelson Mandela's Government of National Unity. Although his supporters were at odds with the government and the ANC, Viljoen praised Mandela on the occasion of his retreat from politics in 1999, even ending his Parliamentary speech speaking in Mandela's native language, Xhosa: Go rest in peace. Go rest in the shadow of a tree at your home.[21]

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.[22]

After retirement

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.[23]

In 2008 Viljoen, aged 74, put up what was described as a spirited fight against two would-be muggers, who were subsequently arrested.[24]

Death

Current Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald announced on 3 April 2020 that Viljoen had died on his farm in Ohrigstad, Limpopo. He was 86 and was surrounded by his children. Viljoen died of natural causes.[25]

He is survived by his wife Christina Susanna Heckroodt, four sons and a daughter.[26]

Awards and decorations

References

  1. Viljoen, Constand Laubscher – The O'Malley Archives
  2. "The who, why and what of South Africa's minority Afrikaner party". The Conversation. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. "Gen. Constand Viljoen". Volkstaat.net. Boerevolkstaat. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  4. "Former SA defence force chief General Constand Viljoen fears for democracy in South Africa, but he wouldn't live elsewhere". PressReader. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  5. Hamann, Hilton (2001). "Introduction". Days of the Generals. Cape Town: Zebra Press (Struck Publishers). ISBN 1-86872-340-2.
  6. Own Reporter (2 November 1998). "Apartheid brass blamed for Cassinga massacre". Mail Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  7. "Battle of Cassinga still rages". Independent Online. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  8. Keller, Bill (6 May 1993). "South African Rightists Rally Behind Ex-Generals". New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  9. "Mandela united a nation seeking national pride". Pressreader. Weekend Argus (Sunday Edition). Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  10. Waldmeir, Patti (1998). "13: Battling for the Right". Anatomy of a Miracle: The End of Apartheid and the Birth of the New South Africa. Rutgers University Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-8135-2582-2.
  11. "Soweto bombs may have been just a 'dry run'". Independent Online. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  12. "Proving That One Man Can Make a Difference". US News & World Report. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  13. "Viljoen reveals just how close SA came to war". Independent Online. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  14. Keller, Bill (11 March 1994). "Homeland Leader in South Africa Flees His Capital". New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  15. Keller, Bill (12 March 1994). "Mixed Signals Fatal for South African Separatists". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  16. Cohen, Tom (13 March 1994). "South Africa Takes Control Of Homeland – Bophuthatswana's Ruler Removed To Open Up Election". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  17. Keller, Bill (13 March 1994). "A Homeland's Agony". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  18. "Mbeki thanks Constand Viljoen". News24. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  19. "Abraham Viljoen: Longtime Campaigner For Black-White Solidarity in South Africa". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  20. "Mediation during the Transition in South Afric". University of South Africa. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  21. "Foes pay tribute as Mandela begins long goodbye". The Guardian. 27 March 1999. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  22. "Constand Viljoen to leave SA parliament". BBC. 15 March 2001. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  23. "Was the TAU part of the Boeremag plot?". Independent Online. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  24. "Ex-SANDF chief turns tables on muggers". IOL News. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  25. Du Toit, Pieter (3 April 2020). "General Constand Viljoen, former SADF commander and political leader, dies at 86". News24. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  26. "General Constand Viljoen passes away aged 86". The Citizen. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  27. 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
Dr Pieter Mulder
Military offices
Preceded by
Magnus Malan
Chief of the South African Defence Force
1980–1985
Succeeded by
Johannes Geldenhuys
Chief of the South African Army
1976–1980
Preceded by
Maj Gen Andre van Deventer
GOC I South African Corps
1976–1976
Succeeded by
Maj Gen Ian Gleeson
Preceded by
Col Frans van den Berg
Director of Artillery
1972  1973
Succeeded by
Brig Frans van den Berg
Preceded by
Col JW van Niekerk
OC South African Army College
1968–1969
Succeeded by
Col Johan Potgieter
Preceded by
Cmdt Hendrik Greyvenstein
OC School of Artillery
1966–1968
Succeeded by
Cmdt Shorty Brown
Preceded by
Maj Helm Roos
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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