General Georg Meiring who served under Mandela dies at 84

Retired General Georg Meiring, the first chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) appointed by late former president Nelson Mandela, has died at 84.

The South African Defence Force Association (SADFA) said Meiring died at his home in Pretoria on Tuesday afternoon surrounded by family and friends.

Passing

“It is with deep sadness that the Meiring family confirms the death of General (Ret) Georg Lodewyk Meiring. He passed away peacefully in the company of his family at 16:39 at home.”

“General Meiring was well respected by both old serving and current serving members of the South African National Defence Force and was a well-respected member in his community and church,” Sadfa said.

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History

Meiring is survived by his wife Ännchen, sons Pieter, Wouter and Georg; daughters Mari, Anna and Sanet and grand and great-grandchildren.

Born in 1939 in Ladybrand in what was then the Orange Free State, Meiring was the last chief of the apartheid-era South African Defence Force and the first chief of the SANDF from 1994 to 1998, when he retired.

After receiving his MSc in Physics from the University of the Free State, he joined the South African Army in 1963 as a signaler. In 1974 he was appointed Director of the Signal Corps in the SA Army.

Meiring served as SA Army Deputy Chief between 1982 and 1983 and as General Officer Commanding (GOC) South-west Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) from 1983 to 1987.

He was later appointed GOC Far North Command, before a second stint as Army Deputy Chief followed by Chief of the SA Army from 1990 to 1993 before taking office as the last Chief of the then South African Defence Force (SADF) from 1993.

Meiring took command of the fledgling SANDF on 1 November 1993 before resigning on 1 April 1994.

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