B. J. Vorster

Birth Name: Balthazar Johannes Vorster

Date of Birth: December 13, 1915

Place of Birth: Jamestown, Cape Province, Union of South Africa

Date of Death: September 10, 1983

Place of Death: Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa

Ethnicity: Afrikaner [Dutch, German, French, small amounts of Belgian Flemish and Walloon, as well as Swiss-German], small amounts of Danish, Indonesian, Indian, Norwegian, African [Angolan, Guinean], remote Chinese

B. J. Vorster was a South African politician. He was the 8th Prime Minister of South Africa, from 13 September, 1966 to 2 October, 1978, and the 4th State President of South Africa, from October 10, 1978 to June 4, 1979. He was also Minister of Justice, from 8 October, 1961 to 14 September, 1966, and Minister of Police, from 1 April, 1966 to 9 August, 1968. He was also known as John Vorster.

He was the son of Elizabeth Sophia (Wagenaar) and Willem Carel Vorster. He was married to Martini Steyn “Tini” Malan, until his death, with whom he had three children.

B. J.’s patrilineal ancestry can be traced back to his fourth great-grandfather, Hans (or Jan in Dutch) Vorster, of Bern, Switzerland.

A few of B. J.’s distant ancestors were slaves, from Africa (Angola and Guinea), China, India, and Indonesia.

Some research suggests that B. J. had Italian ancestry. It is not clear if this ancestry have been documented/verified.

B. J. was a great-uncle of actor Arnold Vosloo. B. J. was a brother of Arnold’s maternal grandfather, Johannes Wagenaar Vorster.

B. J.’s paternal grandfather was Olof Abraham Vorster (the son of Johannes Hendrik Vorster and Sophia Aletta Jacoba de Meyer). Olof was born in Graaff-Reinet, Western District, Eastern Cape. Johannes was the son of Jacobus Adriaan Vorster and Maartje/Martha Elisabeth Jacoba Lubbe. Sophia was the daughter of Olof/Olaf Abraham Servaas de Meyer and Anna Christina Weydeman; Anna’s father, Pieter Andries Christiaan Weijdeman, was a Danish immigrant, from Copenhagen.

B. J.’s paternal grandmother was Anna Catharina Elisabeth/Elizabeth van der Merwe (the daughter of Jacobus Daniël van der Merwe and Maria Johanna Elizabeth/Elisabeth Davel). Anna was born in Graaff-Reinet, Western District, Eastern Cape. Jacobus was the son of Willem Karel van der Merwe and Margaretha Johanna de Wit. Margaretha’s paternal great-great-grandfather, Robbert Robberts Brand, was a Norwegian immigrant, from Christiania, now Oslo. Robbert’s mother was Johanna Susanna Ferreira, whose last name is of Portuguese origin, suggesting that she may have had Sephardi Jewish ancestry; it is unclear if that was the case. Maria Johanna was the daughter of Isak Johannes Davel and Anna Catharina Elisabeth Visagie.

B. J.’s maternal grandfather was Johannes Jacobus “Jan” Wagenaar (the son of Johannes Petrus Wagenaar and Catharina Christina Wilhelmina Oelofse). B. J.’s great-grandfather Johannes was the son of Johannes Jacobus Wagenaar and Jacoba Johanna Viviers. Catharina was the son of Nicolaas Jacobus Oelofse and Maria Elizabeth de Jager. Nicolaas’ paternal great-grandfather, Andries Oelofse, was a Norwegian immigrant, from Christiania (now Oslo).

B. J.’s maternal grandmother was Johanna Maria Elisabeth Wepener (the daughter of Frederik Jacobus Wepener and Maria Geertruyda Bekker). Johanna was born in Somerset East, Western District, Eastern Cape. Frederik was the son of Frederik Jacobus Wepener and Johanna Maria Erasmus. B. J.’s great-grandmother Maria Geertruyda was the daughter of Stephanus “Petrus” Bekker and Maria Elisabeth Jansen van Rensburg.

B. J.’s matrilineal ancestry can be traced back to his ninth great-grandmother, Jean(ne) Francomme, of Calais, France.

B. J. was a second cousin, three times removed, of actor Neil Sandilands. BJ’s paternal great-grandparents, Johannes Hendrik Vorster and Sophia Aletta Jacoba de Meyer, were also Neil’s paternal great-great-great-great-grandparents.

Sources: Genealogies of B. J. Vorster – https://www.geni.com
http://www.vorster.net

Genealogy of B. J.’s paternal grandfather, Olof Abraham Vorster – https://www.wikitree.com

Genealogy of B. J.’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Johannes Jacobus “Jan” Wagenaar (through Johannes’s brother) – https://www.wikitree.com

5 Responses

  1. andrew says:

    Genealogy of B.J.’s maternal grandfather, Johannes Jacobus “Jan” Wagenaar (through Johannes’s brother, Nicolaas Jacobus Wagenaar) – https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/Wagenaar-Family-Tree-78

  2. Gurrl says:

    LOL the percentages

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