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Smuts, Jan Christian 1870-1950
South African statesman

He was born in Malmesbury, Cape Colony, and educated at Christ's College, Cambridge. In the Boer War he fought with de la Rey. He entered the House of Assembly in 1907 and held several cabinet offices, succeeding Louis Botha as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa (1919). Entrusted during World War I with operations in German East Africa, he was made a member of the Imperial War Cabinet. As Minister of Justice under J B M Hertzog, his coalition with the Nationalists in 1934 produced the United party, and he became Prime Minister in 1939. During World War II his counsel was sought by the War Cabinet.

Bibliography: F S Crafford, Jan Smuts: A Biography (1943)