Jan Christiaan Smuts (24 May 1870 – 11 September 1950) was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth , military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948. He was a supporter of racial segregation based on separate territory for blacks and whites, but by the time of the 1948 elections he supported a policy of initiating some measures of integration.