Jan Smuts

Full Name: Jan Christian Smuts
Profession: Field Marshal and Prime Minister of South Africa

Biography: Jan Smuts was a South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader, and philosopher of the first half of the 20th century. He served two non-consecutive terms as South Africa's Prime Minister, first from 1919 to 1924, and then from 1939 to 1948. His political career was marked by his key role in forming the Union of South Africa and his efforts in establishing the League of Nations and later the United Nations.

Smuts was a formidable military strategist, having fought in both the Second Boer War and the First World War. In the latter, he commanded the British Army in East Africa and served in the Imperial War Cabinet, contributing to the development of the Royal Air Force. During the Second World War, Smuts again held a seat in the British War Cabinet, making him the only man to have an official role in both world wars' allied leadership.

In addition to his political and military achievements, Smuts was a notable scholar. He pioneered the concept of holism, detailed in his 1926 book, "Holism and Evolution," which has been influential in fields from ecology to health sciences.

Despite his accomplishments, Smuts' legacy is also marked by the controversial policies of racial segregation and disenfranchisement implemented under his administration, which laid groundwork for the later apartheid system.

Born: May 24, 1870
Birthplace: Bovenplaats, Cape Colony, British Empire
Star Sign: Gemini

Died: September 11, 1950 (aged 80)
Cause of Death: Heart attack after suffering a coronary thrombosis