ABSTRACT: General George Fivaz accomplished the transitioning of the apartheid-era South African Police force and those of the former Bantu homelands, amalgamating them into the new South African Police Service, when tasked by President Nelson Mandela with this important challenge.
KEYWORDS: South African Police, South African Police Service, first national commissioner, post-apartheid transition
AUTHOR: Jan de Klerk
General George Fivaz*
General Fivaz was the inaugural National Commissioner of the newly established South African Police Service. He was appointed on January 29, 1995 and served for five years. His primary responsibility was to consolidate the eleven separate policing agencies into a unified force.
* Addendum
Important additional information supplied by General Fivaz after the initial post. See bottom of this post.
On January 29, 1995, President Nelson Mandela appointed General George Fivaz SSA* SOE** as the inaugural National Commissioner of the newly established South African Police Service. The primary responsibility of National Commissioner George Fivaz was to consolidate the eleven separate policing agencies into a unified South African Police Service. Additionally, he was entrusted with aligning the new Police Service with the evolving legislation and transformation processes in South Africa.
With remarkable success, General George Fivaz effectively merged these eleven police forces into a single, cohesive national service. He dedicated five years to this role before stepping down. In January 2000, National Commissioner George Fivaz’s term of office concluded. Minister Tshwete commended National Commissioner George Fivaz and acknowledged that the appointment of National Commissioner Jackie Selebi marked a new era for policing in South Africa.
Interesting trivia:
The last Commissioner of the South African Police Force, General JV van der Merwe tendered resignation in January 1995, effectively ending service on 31 March 1995. It may therefore be permissible to assume that General Van der Merwe was serving under General Fivaz, who was appointed first Commissioner of the amalgamated SAPS, for a short period of one month.
*SSA Star of South Africa Gold
**SOE South African Police Star for Outstanding Service
Supplied by General Fivaz
*
Having read the “Interesting trivia” section above, General Fivaz volunteered the following important information:
General JV van der Merwe was NOT the last commissioner of the South African Police Force when he resigned in 1995. General Van der Merwe was replaced by two more successors before amalgamation was completed.
Lt-Genl JG le Roux Stemmet successor to Genl van der Merwe and the penultimate Commissioner of the South African Police Force.
