Jan Christiaan Smuts can undoubtedly be listed as one of South Africa’s greatest sons. He was born in Bovenplaats in the Western Cape Province (then the Cape Colony) on the 24th May 1870. He was home schooled by his mother and only started formal schooling at the age of 12 and after only 5 years, graduated from Victoria College, Stellenbosch with distinction. He had become a follower of the philosophy of Jan Hofmeyr, the leader of the Afrikaner Bond. It was during his years in Stellenbosch that Jan Smuts met his wife “Isie” Krige whom he married in 1897.
In 1891 Jan Smuts earned, through his academic excellence at UNISA, (Previously the University of the Cape of Good Hope) a scholarship to Cambridge University where he studied law and where he won the highest accolades. He returned to South Africa and was admitted to the Cape Colony Bar in 1895.
Smuts had become a great supporter of Paul Kruger, President of the Transvaal Republic and during the second Boer War played one of the leading roles in fighting the British and was one of the leaders who brought about the eventual peace treaty that was signed on 31st May 1902. He then played a key role during discussions with the British and eventually his beliefs and dreams were realized when a constitution was drawn up and the Union of South Africa was born in 1910 with General Louis Botha as the Prime Minister and Jan Smuts holding 3 key ministries which included Defence Minister.
During his lifetime Jan Christiaan Smuts excelled as a soldier, statesman of world fame, philosopher, naturalist and scholar. He held the position of Prime Minister twice in his lifetime, from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948.
It should be said that his utmost achievements were engineering and planning the League of Nations and later on pressing for the forming of the United Nations. He wrote the preface to the U.N. Charter. Only one person signed the charters of both the League of Nations and the United Nations and that person was General Jan Christiaan Smuts of South Africa.
At the age of 80 on the 11 September 1950, Jan Christiaan Smuts died at his home, Doornkloof, in Gauteng (previously Transvaal) South Africa.