Willem de Beer

Willem de Beer, often known as by the honorific of Generaal, was an Afrikaner statesman and rebel. For over 20 years he was the figurehead of the Orania movement, which, although initially an Afrikaner only movement, came to encompass almost all native Europeans living in southern Africa. De Beer had no known family connection to the De Beers diamond mining company, but did deliberately mislead both allies and enemies into thinking otherwise, even going so far as to state that he was financed by the diamond merchant.

A skilled tactician, strategist and resource manager, De Beer became the de facto leader of the rebellion of white South Africans against the South African government, controlled by the South African National Congress. During this time, Willem de Beer became known as Generaal ("General") due to his successful command of the rebel forces. This was despite the fact that he never held any military rank and had no military experience. The rebellion, which de Beer headed, was financed in secret by Harry Altena, a former protege of de Beer's who amassed vast wealth through business ventures in Europe and the United States. It was due to these finances that de Beer was able to acquire powerful military hardware including, ultimately, nuclear weapons.

After relinquishing his assets in the United States and Europe, Harry Altena became de Beer's top lieutenant and swore utmost loyalty to him. It was at this time that Altena adopted the nom-de-guerre Koning Erik in order to hide his true identity from foreign governments. After de Beer's death in battle, Altena assumed the role as leader of white rebellion, and would go on to become the first King of White Africa.