Hendrik van den Bergh (police official)

Hendrik Johan van den Bergh
SSA
Born(1914-11-27)27 November 1914
Vredefort, Orange Free State, Union of South Africa
Died16 August 1997(1997-08-16) (aged 82)
Bronkhorstspruit, Pretoria, South Africa
Other names"Tall Hendrik" (Afrikaans: Lang Hendrik)
Known forFounding of Bureau of State Security (B.O.S.S.)
Police career
CountrySouth African Police
Allegiance South Africa
DepartmentSouth African Bureau of State Security
BranchIntelligence
Service yearsc. 1945 – 1980
RankGeneral/Director-General

General Hendrik Johan van den Bergh, SSA (27 November 1914 – 16 August 1997)[1] was a South African police official most famous for founding the Bureau of State Security (B.O.S.S.), an intelligence agency created on 16 May 1969[2] to coordinate military and domestic intelligence for the government[3][4] as well as to suppress political dissidents.[1][5] He was known as "Tall Hendrik" (Afrikaans: Lang Hendrik) on account of his height (6 feet 5 inches (196 cm)).[5]

  1. ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica Online
  2. ^ 16 May 1969: The South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS) established South African History Online
  3. ^ Byrnes, Rita, M (1997). "South Africa: a country study". Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Washington D.C.: Library of Congress. Federal Research Division. Retrieved 20 February 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Byrnes, Rita M. (ed) South Africa: Military Intelligence and Intelligence Coordination, Library of Congress Country Studies, 1996
  5. ^ a b Braid, Mary (21 August 1997). "Obituary: Hendrik van den Bergh". The Independent. Retrieved 20 February 2019.