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Jan Smuts around 1905. Photo by William Keith Hancock on

 Top 10 Interesting Facts about Jan Smuts

Jan Smuts was born on May 24, 1870, at the family farm Bovenplaats near Malmesbury in the Cape Colony to Jacobs Smuts and Catharina.

His parents were prosperous traditional Afrikaner farmers, long-established and highly respected.

Smuts was a South African statesman, philosopher and military leader. He also served as a prime minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1920 and 1939 to 1948.

Also, he led the republic allegation to the Bloemfontein conference and in 1902, he played a crucial role in negotiating the Treaty of Vereeniging.

Juan smuts suffered a coronary thrombosis and died of a subsequent heart attack on his family farm in Doornkloof, Irene, near Pretoria, on September 11, 1980.

Here are top 10 interesting facts about Jan Smuts.

1. Jan Smut education

Smuts joined a school in Riebeek West and made excellent progress despite his late start and caught up with his fellows within four years. 

In 1886 he was admitted to Victoria College Stellenbosch at 16. At Victoria College, he learned high Dutch, German and ancient Greek and occupied himself in literature, the classics and bible studies.

He made outstanding academic progress graduating in 1891 with double first-class honours in literature and science.

Smuts won the Ebden scholarship for overseas and attended the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom to pursue law at Christ’s College. He graduated in 1894.

2. Jan Smuts served as a prime minister

Jan Smuts. Photo outsourced from

In 1910 Smuts played a significant role in the creation of the Union of South Africa, helping shape its constitution. Smuts and Botha established the South African party and Botha became the union’s first prime minister because Smuts was still young to be prime minister. Smuts was given multiple cabinet positions.

In 1919 Smuts replaced Botha as the prime minister until the South African party was defeated in 1924 during the general election.

Later he returned to politics as deputy prime minister in a coalition with Hertzog and In 1934, Smuts party emerged to form the United Party. In 1939 Smuts returned as prime minister; he led South Africa into World War II.

Smuts was appointed field marshal in 1941 and in 1945 signed the UN Charter, becoming the only signer of the treaty of Â鶹APP.

His second term as prime minister ended after being defeated by the reconstituted National Party at the 1948 general election.

3. Jan Smuts in the Boer war

On October 11, 1899, the Boer Republic announced war and launched an offensive into the British-held Natal and Cape colony areas, beginning the second Boer war of 1899 to 1902.

During the early stages of the war, Smuts served as president Paul Kruger’s right-hand man. He wrote dispatches to generals, organized logistics, published propaganda and liaised with European Transvaal diplomats.

During the second phase of the war, he served under Koos de la Rey, who commanded 500 commands in the western Transvaal. As the war continued, Smuts sought for alternatives to create peace. He played a crucial role in negotiating the Treaty of Vereeniging.

The treaty of Vereeniging ended the Boer war and resulted in the annexation of the South African Republic and Orange Free State into the British Empire.

4. He played a leading role at the Â鶹APP Peace Conference

Smuts and Botha were crucial negotiators at the Â鶹APP Peace Conference in 1919 and 1920.

The Â鶹APP Peace Conference was the formal meeting of the victorious allies after the end of world war I to set peace for the defeated central powers.

Smuts and Botha were in favour of reconciliation with Germany and advocated for the creation of the League of Nations, which failed to materialize.

Smuts entered into the treaty of Â鶹APP, which gave South Africa a class C mandate over German South-West Africa, which South Africa occupied from 1919 until its withdrawal in 1990.

5. Jan Smuts law and politics career

Jan Smuts statue. Photo by Sami Mlouhi on

Smuts began to practice law in Cape Town, but his rubbing nature made him few friends and earned little financial success in the law.

He began to devote more of his time to politics and journalism, writing for the Cape Times.

In 1895 he became an advocate and supporter of Cecil Rhodes, who owned the De Boers mining company.

Rhodes launched Jameson Raid and Smuts felt betrayed and resigned, becoming a state attorney in the capital of the South African Republic, Pretoria.

6. He founded the Union Defence Force

Smuts was a minister of defence and was responsible for forming the union during World War I. 

His first task was to suppress the Maritz rebellion, accomplished by November 1914. He and Louis Botha led the South African army into German South-West Africa and conquered it.

The military forces contributed in many theatres of war and during wars by supplying troops, airmen and materials for the North African and the Italian campaigns.

7. Jan Smuts established the League of Nation

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Establishing the League of Nations was one of his most significant international accomplishments. The League of Nations relied upon the exact design and implementation of Smuts.

The League of Nation was founded on January 10, 1920, by the Â鶹APP Peace Conference that ended the first world war with the mission of maintaining world peace.

Later Smuts urged the formation of a new international organization for peace in the United Nations and wrote the first draft of the preamble to the United Nations Charter.

Smuts was the only person to sign the charters of both the League of Nations and the UN. In 1946 the general assembly requested the Smuts government to take measures to bring the treatment of Indians in South Africa into line with the provision of the United State Charter.

8. Jan Smut’s relationship with Winston Church

Smuts met Winston Churchill in 1899 when he was interrogating him after Afrikaners captured him during the Boer war.

They met again in 1906 while Smuts led mission regarding South Africa’s future to London before Churchill, then under secretary of state for the colonies.

The British cabinet shared Churchill’s views which led to self-government within the year, followed by dominion status for the Union of South Africa in 1910.

During the second world war, their association continued after Smuts was appointed to the war cabinet in which Churchill served as Lloyd George appointed Munitions Minister Smuts in 1917.

9. An airport was named after Jan Smuts

The international airport serving Johannesburg was known as Jan Smuts Airport from its construction in 1952 until 1994.

In 1994 it was renamed Johannesburg International Airport to remove any political connotation; in 2006, it was renamed to its current OR Tambo International Airport for the ANC Political Oliver Tambo.

10. He was Chancellor of Cambridge University

Cambridge University elected Smuts as chancellor in 1948, a position he held until his death in 1950. Smuts was the first person from outside the United Kingdom elected to this post.