View source for Magnus Malan

{{Short description|South African military figure and politician (1930-2011)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use South African English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[General]]
| name                = Magnus Malan
| honorific-suffix    = {{Post-nominals|country=ZAR|size=100%|SSAG|OMSG|SD|SM52|MP}}
| image               = Magnus-malan.jpg
| caption             = Magnus Malan circa 1990.
| office              = [[Minister of Defence (South Africa)|Minister of Defence]]
| term_start          = 1980
| term_end            = 1991
| primeminister       = [[P. W. Botha]] and [[F. W. de Klerk]]
| predecessor         = [[P. W. Botha]]
| successor           = [[Roelf Meyer]]
| birth_name          = Magnus André de Merindol Malan
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1930|01|30|df=yes}}
| birth_place         = [[Pretoria]], [[Transvaal Province|Transvaal]], [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=y|2011|7|18|1930|1|30}}
| death_place         = [[Pretoria]], [[Gauteng]], [[South Africa]]
| party               = [[National Party (South Africa)|National]]
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = [[University of Pretoria]]
| occupation          = Politician and military chief
| profession          = 
| spouse              = {{Marriage|Magrietha Johanna van der Walt|1962}}
| awards              = {{MilAward Ribbon|OMSG|x12px}}
<!-- Military career -->| allegiance          = South Africa
| branch              = {{ubl|[[South African Army]] | [[South African Navy]]}}
| serviceyears        = 1950{{ndash}}1980
| rank                = General
| unit                = 
| commands            = [[List of South African military chiefs#Chief of the SADF|Chief of the South African Defence Force]]<br />[[List of South African military chiefs#Chief of the Army|Chief of the Army]]<br />[[Western Province Command]]<br />[[South African Military Academy]]
| battles             = [[Operation Savannah (Angola)|Operation Savannah]]
| mawards             = {{MilAward Stack|SSAG|SD|SM52|PPC|GoodServiceG|GoodServiceS|PFGS|size=x12px}}
}}

[[General]] '''Magnus André de Merindol Malan'''  {{postnominals|country=ZAR|size=100%|sep=,|SSAG|OMSG|SD|SM52|MP}} (30 January 1930 – 18 July 2011) was a South African military figure and politician during the last years of [[apartheid in South Africa]]. He served as [[Minister of Defence (South Africa)|Minister of Defence]] in the cabinet of President [[Pieter Willem Botha|P. W. Botha]], Chief of the [[South African Defence Force]] (SADF), and Chief of the [[South African Army]]. Rising quickly through the lower ranks, he was appointed to strategic command positions. His tenure as chief of the defence force saw it increase in size, efficiency and capabilities.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |title=Obit – Magnus Malan: monster and militarist |url=https://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/Obit-Magnus-Malan-monster-and-militarist-20150429 |date = 23 July 2011 |access-date=15 August 2018 |agency=City Press|location=South Africa}}</ref> 

As P.W. Botha's cabinet minister, he posited a total communist onslaught, for which an encompassing national strategy was devised. This entailed placing policing, intelligence and aspects of civic affairs under control of generals. The [[ANC]] and [[SWAPO]] were branded as terrorist organizations, while splinter groups ([[UNITA]] and [[RENAMO]]) were bolstered in neighbouring and [[Frontline States]].<ref name="obit" /> Cross-border raids targeted suspected bases of insurgents or activists, while at home the army entered townships from 1984 onwards to stifle unrest. Elements in the [[Inkhata Freedom Party]] were used as a proxy force, and rogue soldiers and policemen in the [[Civil Cooperation Bureau|CCB]] assassinated opponents.<ref name="obit" />

==Personal life==

Malan's father was a professor of [[biochemistry]] at the [[University of Pretoria]]<ref name="TelegraphObit">{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8648347/General-Magnus-Malan.html | title=General Magnus Malan | work=The Telegraph | date=19 July 2011 | access-date=12 December 2017}}</ref> and later a member of parliament (1948–1966) and Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees (1961–1966) of the House of Assembly. He started his high school education at the [[Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool]] but later moved to Dr [[Danie Craven]]’s Physical Education Brigade in [[Kimberley, South Africa|Kimberley]], where he completed his matriculation. He wanted to join the South African armed forces immediately after his matriculation, but his father advised him first to complete his university studies. As a result of this advice, Malan enrolled at the [[University of Stellenbosch]] in 1949 to study for a [[Bachelor of Commerce]] degree.<ref name=M&G/> However, he later abandoned his studies in [[Stellenbosch]] and went to [[University of Pretoria]], where he enrolled for a BSc Mil. degree. He graduated in 1953.

In 1962, Malan married Magrietha Johanna van der Walt;<ref name=M&G/> the couple had two sons and one daughter.

==Military career==

At the end of 1949, the first military degree course for officers was advertised and Malan joined the [[Permanent Force]] as a cadet, going on to complete his BSc Mil at the [[University of Pretoria]] in 1953.<ref name=M&G/>

Malan was commissioned in the Navy and served in the Marines based on Robben Island.<ref name=M&G/> When they were disbanded, he was transferred back into the Army as a lieutenant.<ref name="news24.com">{{cite web|url= http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Magnus-Malans-career-20110718 |title=Magnus Malan's career |publisher=News24 |date=18 July 2011 |access-date=2 November 2012}}</ref>

Malan was earmarked for high office from early on in his military career; one of the many courses he attended was the [[Command and General Staff College|Regular Command and General Staff Officers Course]] at [[Fort Leavenworth]], [[Kansas]] in the [[United States of America]] from 1962 to 1963. During this time he was introduced to President [[J.F. Kennedy]] and spent time doing manoeuvres with an American Armoured Division. In 1967, at age 36, while stationed in [[Windhoek]] and holding the rank of colonel, Malan joined the secretive [[Broederbond]] organization.<ref name="wilk">{{cite book |last1=Wilkins |first1=Ivor |last2=Strydom |first2=Hans |title=The Super-Afrikaners: Inside the Afrikaner Broederbond |date=1 June 2012 |publisher=Jonathan Ball Publishers SA |location=Johannesburg |isbn=9781868425358 |page=A70 }}</ref> He went on to serve as commanding officer of various [[formation (military)|formations]], including [[Western Province Command]],<ref name=Leiers>{{cite journal |last1= Nöthling|first1=C.J.|title=Leiers Deur die Jare (1912-1982)|last2=Meyers|first2=E.M.|journal= Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies|year=1982|volume=12|issue=2|doi=10.5787/12-2-631|issn=2224-0020|language= af |pages=89–98|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{Rp|95}} [[South West Africa Command]], and the [[South African Military Academy]].<ref name=Leiers />{{Rp|95}}<ref name=Uys1992>{{cite book|last1=Uys|first1=Ian|title=South African Military Who's Who 1452–1992|year=1992|publisher=Fortress Publishers|location=Germiston|isbn=0-9583173-3-X|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/southafricanmili0000uysi}}</ref>{{Rp|77}}

In 1973, Malan was appointed as Chief of the South African Army and three years later as Chief of the [[South African Defence Force]] (SADF).<ref name=Leiers />{{Rp|95}}<ref name=DaysGen>{{cite book|last1=Hamann|first1=Hilton|title=Days of the Generals|date=2001|publisher=Zebra Press (Struck Publishers)|location=Cape Town|isbn=1-86872-340-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mYgWcHq8lE8C|chapter=Introduction}}</ref>{{Rp|xiv-xv}} As Chief of the SADF he implemented many administrative changes that earned him great admiration in military circles.<ref name="SAMILHIST">{{cite journal | url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol154mm.html | title=OBITUARY: GENERAL MAGNUS MALAN, 1930 – 2011 | author=Sinclair, Allan | journal=South African Military History Journal | date=June 2011 | volume=15 | issue=3}}</ref> During this period he became very close to [[P.W. Botha]], the then [[Minister of Defence (South Africa)|Minister of Defence]] and later [[Prime Minister of South Africa|Prime Minister]] and [[State President of South Africa]].

===Awards and decorations===

Malan was awarded the following awards and decorations:<ref name="news24.com"/>
* {{MilAward Desc|SSAG|x20px}} <!-- Magnus Malan (SA Army), [[Raymond Armstrong]] (SAAF) and [[James Johnson (SA Navy)]] were awarded the SSA together in 1975 and all three received the new SSA that was introduced in that year, not the old 1952 version. Proof of this is the official photo of [[:File:Magnus-malan.jpg|Magnus Malan]], wearing the 1975 SSA around his neck and, since (as Minister of Defence) he introduced the bad habit of wearing night medals (miniatures) by day, also the miniature 1975 SSA on his chest. -->
<!-- This statement is not correct.  These three officers were awarded the old 1952 version of the SSA.  They exchanged it for the new 1975 version in 1977.  There are photos in Paratus magazine to prove this.-->
* {{MilAward Desc|OMSG|x20px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|SD|x20px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|SM52|x20px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|PPC|x20px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|GoodServiceG|x20px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|GoodServiceS|x20px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|PFGS|x20px}}

{{Apartheid}}

==Political career==

In October 1980, Botha appointed Malan defence minister in the [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] government, a post he held until 1991. As a result of this appointment, he joined the National Party and became Member of Parliament for [[Modderfontein (East Rand)|Modderfontein]]. He was also elected to be a member of the Executive Council of the National Party.<ref>[http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/bios/malan-m.htm Magnus Andre De Merindol Malan], South African History Online. Retrieved 3 December 2007 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318022604/http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/bios/malan-m.htm |date=18 March 2011 }}</ref>

During Malan's tenure in parliament as defence minister, his greatest opposition came from MPs of the [[Progressive Federal Party]] such as [[Harry Schwarz]] and Philip Myburgh, who both served as shadow defence ministers at various points during the 1980s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roherty|first=James|year=1992|title=State security in South Africa: civil-military relations under P.W. Botha|publisher=M E Sharpe Inc|isbn= 0-87332-877-9}}</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2020}}

In July 1991, following a scandal involving secret government funding to the [[Inkatha Freedom Party]] and other opponents of the [[African National Congress]], President [[F. W. de Klerk]] removed Malan from his influential post of defence minister and appointed him as the minister for water affairs and forestry.<ref>[http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/general/1990s.html Chronology 1990–1999] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071101051622/http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/general/1990s.html |date=1 November 2007 }}, South African History Online. Retrieved 3 December 2007</ref>

The [[Warrior-class strike craft|strike craft]] {{SAS|Magnus Malan}} of the [[South African Navy]] was named after him<ref name="Wessels">{{cite web|url=http://humanities.ufs.ac.za/dl/userfiles/Documents/00001/1095_eng.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233250/http://humanities.ufs.ac.za/dl/userfiles/Documents/00001/1095_eng.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date= 2 December 2013 |title=The South African Navy during the years of conflict in Southern Africa 1966–1989 |access-date= 14 August 2014 |author=Wessels, Andre }}</ref> prior to the change of government in 1994.

==Later life==

On 2 November 1995, Malan was charged together with 19 other former senior military officers for murdering 13 people (including seven children) in the [[KwaMakhutha massacre]] in 1987.<ref>{{cite news |title=General Malan indicted |url=https://www.anc1912.org.za/mayibuye-volume-6-no-8/ |access-date=12 July 2025 |work=Mayibuye |volume=6 |issue=8 |date=December 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=More charges against Malan |url=https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/cis/omalley/OMalleyWeb/03lv02424/04lv03275/05lv03336/06lv03337/07lv03341.htm |access-date=12 July 2025 |work=Mayibuye |volume=7 |issue=2 |date=March 1996}}</ref> The murders were said to have been part of a conspiracy to create war between the [[African National Congress]] (ANC) and the Zulu [[Inkatha Freedom Party]] (IFP), and maintaining white minority rule. The charges related to an attack in January 1987 on the home of [[Victor Ntuli]], an ANC activist, in [[KwaMakhutha]] township near Durban in [[KwaZulu-Natal]].<ref name="Drogin 1995">{{cite news |last1=Drogin |first1=Bob |title=S. Africa Braces for a Risky Trial |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-11-28-mn-7919-story.html |access-date=12 July 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=28 November 1995}}</ref>

Malan and the other accused were bailed and ordered to appear in court again on 1 December 1995. A seven-month trial then ensued and brought hostility between black and white South Africans to the fore once again. All the accused were eventually acquitted. President Mandela called on South Africans to respect the verdict.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/2/newsid_2514000/2514029.stm 1995: Ex-minister charged with apartheid murders], BBC News. Retrieved 3 November 2006</ref> Nonetheless in South Africa, the Malan trial has come to be seen by some as a failure of the legal process.<ref>10 S. Afr. J. Crim. Just. 141 (1997) Failing to Pierce the Hit Squad Veil: An Analysis of the Malan Trial; Varney, Howard; Sarkin, Jeremy</ref><ref>1989 Acta Juridica 165 (1989)  Sub-Contracting the Dirty Work; Plasket, Clive</ref>{{original research inline|date=October 2020}}<ref>Herbert M. Howe (1994). The South African Defence Force and Political Reform. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 32</ref>{{original research inline|date=October 2020}}<ref>16 S. Afr. J. on Hum. Rts. 415 (2000)  After the Dry White Season: The Dilemmas of Reparation and Reconstruction in South Africa; Jenkins, Catherine</ref><ref>The "New" South Africa: Violence Works Bill Berkeley World Policy Journal , Vol. 13, No. 4 (Winter, 1996/1997), pp. 73–80</ref><ref>117 S. African L.J. 572 (2000)  Second Bite at the Amnesty Cherry – Constitutional and Policy Issues around Legislation for a Second Amnesty, A; Klaaren, Jonathan; Varney, Howard</ref><ref>Shattered voices: language, violence, and the work of truth commissions, [[Teresa Godwin Phelps]]. [[University of Pennsylvania Press]], 2004 p. 64</ref>

Malan also had to appear before the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/business-day/20110719/282364036333708|title=Malan gave SA 'total onslaught' |date=2011-07-19 |author=HOPEWELL RADEBE|via=PressReader|access-date=23 February 2018 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409051213/https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/business-day/20110719/282364036333708 |archive-date=2023-04-09}}</ref>

On 26 January 2007, he was interviewed by shortwave/Internet talk radio show ''The Right Perspective''.<ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20110707135007/http://www.amigofish.com/catcher/item/show/1505520_magnus_malan_interview]}}https://archive.org/details/GeneralMagnusMalanTRPInterview1.27.07</ref> It is believed to be one of the very few, if not the only, interviews Malan gave outside of South Africa. In 2006, he published an autobiography titled ''My Life With the SA Defence Force.''<ref name=Baines>Baines, Gary. "The life of a uniformed technocrat turned securocrat: My life with the SA Defence Force, Magnus Malan: book review." Historia 54, no. 1 (2009): 314–327.</ref>

Malan died at his home in Pretoria on 18 July 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/world/africa/19malan.html |title=Magnus Malan, Apartheid Defender, Dies at 81|author=Douglas Martin|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 July 2011 }}</ref> He was survived by his wife, 3 children and 9 grandchildren.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Magnus-Malan-dies-20110718 |title=Magnus Malan dies |publisher=News24 |date=18 July 2011 |access-date=2 November 2012}}</ref><ref name=M&G>{{cite news|last= Davies |first= Richard |title= Magnus Malan dies 'peacefully' at 81|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2011-07-18-magnus-malan-dies-peacefully-at-81|access-date=18 July 2011 |newspaper= Mail & Guardian|date=18 July 2011}}</ref>

== Controversy ==

{{undue weight|date=October 2020}}
{{see also| The Lost Boys of Bird Island}}

In August 2018, a book by a former apartheid-era policeman [[Mark Minnie]] and journalist [[Chris Steyn]] alleged that Malan had been involved in a [[paedophilia]] ring in the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/1991546/elite-ring-of-apartheid-paedophiles-allegedly-preyed-on-coloured-boys/|title=Elite ring of apartheid paedophiles allegedly preyed on coloured boys |last= reporter|first= Citizen |work= The Citizen|access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref> The book, ''[[The Lost Boys of Bird Island]]'' contains testimony that Malan used his position as Defence Minister to kidnap and ferry young Coloured boys to an island off the coast of South Africa by helicopter, under the pretext of going on a fishing trip. They were then allegedly raped and otherwise sexually abused by Malan and other members of the ring who purportedly included local businessman Dave Allen, former minister of environmental affairs [[John Wiley (politician)|John Wiley]], and at least one other government minister who is not named but is still alive.<ref name="news24-1">{{Cite news|url= https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/magnus-malan-two-other-national-party-ministers-were-paedophiles-20180805|title=Magnus Malan, two other National Party ministers 'were paedophiles'|work=News24|access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref> The book, however, contained sufficient information for readers to conclude that former finance minister, [[Barend du Plessis]], was the implicated living minister.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/just-in-controversial-book-the-lost-boys-of-bird-island-in-which-claims-of-paedophilia-were-made-against-apartheid-era-ministers-withdrawn-by-publisher-20200303|title='The Lost Boys of Bird Island': Publishers withdraw paedophilia scandal book |last= Riaan Grobler|first= news24 |work= news24|access-date=4 March 2020}}</ref>

Dave Allen was later arrested for paedophilia but was found dead from an apparent suicide before he was due to appear in court.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://city-press.news24.com/News/apartheids-paedophiles-20180804|title=Apartheid's paedophiles: 'Magnus Malan and others in sex orgies with young boys'|work=City Press|location=South Africa|access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/04/03/Police-issue-warning-on-cabinet-members-suicide/2626544424400/|title=Police issue warning on cabinet member's suicide|work=United Press International|access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref> Wiley was found dead just weeks later.<ref name="news24-1"/> Mark Minnie, one of the authors of ''Lost Boys'' was found dead in August 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-08-14-suicide-note-found-at-scene-where-mark-minnies-body-found/|title=Apartheid paedophile ring: Suicide note found at scene where Mark Minnie's body found|last=Wilson|first=Gareth|date=14 August 2018|work=Times Live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180814151116/https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-08-14-suicide-note-found-at-scene-where-mark-minnies-body-found/|archive-date=14 August 2018}}</ref>

The allegations were met with scepticism and rejected by those who were intimately acquainted with Malan, including his surviving family.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://netwerk24.com/Nuus/Algemeen/magnus-se-familie-geweldig-ontsteld-20180806#loggedin|title=Magnus se familie 'geweldig geskok'|work=Netwerk24|access-date=7 August 2018|language=af}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url= https://netwerk24.com/Nuus/Algemeen/magnus-se-familie-verwerp-beweringe-ten-sterkste-20180806|title=Magnus se familie verwerp bewering 'ten sterkste'|work=Netwerk24|access-date=7 August 2018|language=af}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url= https://netwerk24.com/Nuus/Algemeen/loutere-kaf-se-pik-oor-bewerings-oor-malan-20180805|title='Loutere kaf, sê Pik oor bewerings oor Malan |work= Beeld|access-date=7 August 2018|language=af}}</ref> In a review by investigative journalist [[Jacques Pauw]], Minnie is described as "a sloppy, negligent and careless policeman". Pauw criticised the book's authors, especially Minnie, for the quality of the investigation and research supporting the allegations and Steyn for having a conflict of interest; and asserted that this has had a negative impact on the victims getting justice.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.news24.com/life/books/mark-minnie-a-sloppy-negligent-and-careless-policeman-20180906|title=Mark Minnie: A sloppy, negligent and careless policeman|first=Jacques|last=Pauw|magazine=Life}}</ref> In April 2019, a major South African newspaper, Rapport, published an apology for their reporting based on the book. The newspaper apologised to the surviving relatives of Malan as new evidence had emerged that cast doubt on the contents of the book and the key allegations were based on unsubstantiated hearsay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-04-14-bird-island-report-was-mistake-afrikaans-newspaper-rapport-apologises-to-apartheid-politicians/|title=Bird Island report was 'mistake' – Afrikaans newspaper Rapport apologises to apartheid politicians|website=TimesLIVE|access-date=14 April 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.netwerk24.com/Stemme/Kommentaar/rapport-se-bird-island-ons-het-n-fout-gemaak-20190414|title=Rapport sê: 'Bird Island': Ons het 'n fout gemaak|date=14 April 2019|website=Netwerk24|access-date=14 April 2019}}</ref> On the morning of 3 March 2020, Johan Victor Attorneys, who represented [[Barend du Plessis]] and the surviving families of Malan and Wiley, released a press statement revealing that, after a forensic investigation was conducted into the allegations made in the book, major concessions and a lack of concrete evidence implicating any of the ministers had been found.  The publishers of The Lost Boys of Bird Island, [[Tafelberg Uitgewers|Tafelberg]], a subsidiary of [[NB Publishers]], retracted the book from the market in both its hard copy and e-book form later on the same afternoon. They issued a statement in which an apology was extended to [[Barend du Plessis]], but not to any other person identified in the book.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/just-in-controversial-book-the-lost-boys-of-bird-island-in-which-claims-of-paedophilia-were-made-against-apartheid-era-ministers-withdrawn-by-publisher-20200303|title='The Lost Boys of Bird Island': Publishers withdraw paedophilia scandal book|last= Riaan Grobler|work= news24|access-date=4 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/general/2249450/publisher-unreservedly-apologises-to-barend-du-plessis-over-lost-boys-of-bird-island-book/|title= Publisher 'unreservedly apologises' to Barend du Plessis over Lost Boys of Bird Island book|last= Charles Cilliers|first= The Citizen|date= 3 March 2020|access-date=4 March 2020}}</ref>

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://therightperspectivepodcastblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/magnus-malan-interview.html The interview of 2007]
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8648347/General-Magnus-Malan.html Obituary of General Magnus Malan, The Daily Telegraph, 19 July 2011]

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Gert Kotzé]] }}
{{s-ttl | title= [[Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment|Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry]] | years = 1991{{snd}}1993}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Kader Asmal]] }}

{{succession box|title=[[Minister of Defence (South Africa)|Minister of Defence]]|before=[[Pieter Willem Botha]]|after=[[Roelf Meyer]]|years=1980–1991}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Hugo Biermann]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Chief of the [[South African Defence Force]] | years = 1976–1980}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Constand Viljoen]]|rows=2}}
|-
{{s-bef | before = [[Willem Louw]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Chief of the [[South African Army]] | years = 1973–1976}}
|-
{{s-bef | before = [[William "Bill" Matthews]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Chief of Staff [[South African Army|Army]] | years = 1972–1973}}
{{s-aft | after = Discontinued }}
|-
{{s-bef | before = [[Jan Fourie]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Officer Commanding [[Western Province Command]] | years = 1971–1972}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Helm Roos]]  }}
|-
{{s-bef | before = [[Pieter de Vos]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Officer Commanding [[South African Military Academy]] | years = 1967–1971 }}
{{s-aft | after = [[Johan Potgieter]]}}
|-
{{s-bef | before = [[Chockie Coetser]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Officer Commanding [[South West Africa Command]] | years = 1966–1967}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Andre van Deventer]]  }}
|-

{{s-end}}

{{SA Army Chiefs}}
{{SA Defence Chiefs}}
{{SouthAfricaDefenceMinisters}}
{{SAWaterForestryMinisters}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malan, Magnus}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Pretoria]]
[[Category:Afrikaner Broederbond members]]
[[Category:National Party (South Africa) politicians]]
[[Category:Defence ministers of South Africa]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Assembly (South Africa)]]
[[Category:Chiefs of the South African Army]]
[[Category:South African military personnel of the Border War]]
[[Category:Apartheid government]]
[[Category:Stellenbosch University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Pretoria alumni]]
[[Category:People who testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)]]
[[Category:People indicted for war crimes]]
[[Category:People acquitted of murder]]
[[Category:People acquitted of international crimes]]
[[Category:Alumni of Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of political repression in apartheid-era South Africa]]