Boer statesman, soldier and first president of the South African (Transvaal) Republic, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius dies

Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Boer statesman, soldier and first president of the South African (Transvaal) Republic, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius dies

Boer statesman, soldier and first president of the South African (Transvaal) Republic, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, died at his home in Potchefstroom at the age of eighty-one. He was elected as president by the Volksraad in 1857 and also served as president of the Orange Free State from 1859 to 1863, the only man to have held both offices. Despite that success, however, his plans to merge the two republics were unsuccessful. Pretorius was the eldest son of the Great Trek leader Andries Pretorius and his wife Christina Petronella de Wit.

How we know this

01Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970).Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 9, p. 118.
02Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Boer statesman, soldier and first president of the South African (Transvaal) Republic, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius dies. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011224

South African History Online (2011) 'Boer statesman, soldier and first president of the South African (Transvaal) Republic, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius dies', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011224 (Accessed: 24 October 2026).

South African History Online, Boer statesman, soldier and first president of the South African (Transvaal) Republic, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius dies [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011224, (accessed 24 October 2026).

"Boer statesman, soldier and first president of the South African (Transvaal) Republic, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius dies." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011224. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Boer statesman, soldier and first president of the South African (Transvaal) Republic, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius dies." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011224.