List of South African military chiefs
Chief of the SADF
The UDF was renamed 'South African Defence Force' in November 1958. The Commandant General's title was then changed to 'Commandant General SADF'.

List of South African military chiefs

Section Title: Chief of the SADF
Table Section Text: The UDF was renamed 'South African Defence Force' in November 1958. The Commandant General's title was then changed to 'Commandant General SADF'.

№	Chief of the SADF	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref

1	Stephen Melville SSA, OBE	General Stephen Melville SSA, OBE (1904–1977)	1 November 1958	31 December 1960	2 years, 60 days	South African Air Force	—

2	Pieter Grobbelaar SSA, DSO	General Pieter Grobbelaar SSA, DSO (1908–1988)	1 January 1961	31 December 1965	4 years, 364 days	South African Army	—

3	Rudolph Hiemstra SSA, SM	General Rudolph Hiemstra SSA, SM (1912–2007)	1 January 1966	31 March 1972	6 years, 90 days	South African Air Force	—

4	Hugo Biermann SSA, SD, OBE, GCIH	Admiral Hugo Biermann SSA, SD, OBE, GCIH (1916–2012)	1 April 1972	31 August 1976	4 years, 152 days	South African Navy	—

5	Magnus Malan SSA, OMSG, SD, SM	General Magnus Malan SSA, OMSG, SD, SM (1930–2011)	1 September 1976	6 October 1980	4 years, 35 days	South African Army	—

6	Constand Viljoen SSA, SD, SOE, SM, MMM, ORB	General Constand Viljoen SSA, SD, SOE, SM, MMM, ORB (born 1933)	7 October 1980	30 October 1985	5 years, 23 days	South African Army

7	Johannes Geldenhuys SSAS, SD, SOE, SM, GCIH, ORB	General Johannes Geldenhuys SSAS, SD, SOE, SM, GCIH, ORB (1935–2018)	1 November 1985	31 October 1990	4 years, 364 days	South African Army	—

8	Andreas Liebenberg SSAS, SD, SOE, SM, MMM	General Andreas Liebenberg SSAS, SD, SOE, SM, MMM (1938–1998)	1 November 1990	31 October 1993	2 years, 364 days	South African Army	—

9	Georg Meiring SSAS, SD, SM, MMM, ORB	General Georg Meiring SSAS, SD, SM, MMM, ORB (born 1939)	1 November 1993	30 April 1994	180 days	South African Army	—

Sentence(s)

General Johannes Geldenhuys, SD, SOE, SM was a South African military commander who served as Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1985 to 1990.

final_sentence: General Johannes Geldenhuys, SD, SOE, SM was a South African military commander who served as Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1985 to 1990.