Stephanus Schoeman [SEP] position held
Stephanus Schoeman
Commandant-General Stephanus Schoeman (14 March 1810 – 19 June 1890) was State President of the South African Republic (ZAR - Transvaal), from 6 December 1860 until 17 April 1862. His red hair, fiery temperament and vehement disputes with other Boer leaders earned him the moniker "Stormvogel den Noorden," "Storm bird of the North."
Early life.
The first member of the Schoeman clan arrived in the Cape in 1724 from Ditmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Ditmarschen had
three cannons used in the battle, "Ou Grietjie" belonged to Schoeman and is now on display in the Voortrekker Monument.
Presidency.
As Commandant-General, Stephanus Schoeman was involved in a major political conflict with Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, the ZAR's First President and writer of its constitution. Schoeman rejected the constitution. Amongst others, Schoeman was supported by Willem Cornelis Janse van Rensburg whom he subsequently appointed as a provisional commandant. Van Rensburg represented Schoeman in negotiations with Pretorius's faction. In 1858, when Schoeman