Occupation Farmer Died 9 September 1892 | Religion Hervormende Kerk Succeeded by Stephanus Schoeman | |
Preceded by Marthinus Wessel Pretorius Born 6 November 1813
Olifantsrivier, Cape Colony ( 1813-11-06 ) Resting place Heroes' Acre, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa Spouse(s) Elizabeth Maria Jacoba du Plessis | ||
Johannes Hermanus "Hans" Grobler was a Boer politician who came to prominence in the South African Republic. Born in Olifantsrivier, Cape Colony on 6 November 1813 and he died in Gemsboksheuvel, Ermelo, on 9 September 1892. He served as the Acting President of the Executive Council of the South African Republic from 15 September 1860 until 6 December 1860.
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Lifecycle
Grobler was the brother-in-law of Andries Potgieter, a leader of the Great Trek and thus he followed him in 1838 into the Transvaal region. He was the first Landdrost in both Potchefstroom as well as Ohrigstad and in 1852 he was one of the signatories of the Sandriver Convention, which recognised Transvaal independence from Britain.
Presidency
In 1860 Grobler became the Acting President of the Executive Council of the South African Republic due to the deceleration by the Volksraad (parliament) that Marthinus Wessel Pretorius was not allowed to be the simultaneous president of the South African Republic as well as the Orange Free State. In December of the same year Grobler was ousted in a coup d'état by Stephanus Schoeman which was the catalyst for the Transvaal Civil War which eventually led to the defeat of Schoeman by Paul Kruger.
Grobler died in 1892 on his farm called Gemsbokheuvel in the Ermelo District of the ZAR.