The Commandant General Petrus Johannes Joubert held a paid position and was in effect a professional soldier. His salary was the not inconsiderable sum of £2500 per annum. It was an elected office that he had first secured in 1880. He was a popular man and a wealthy one. He might be said to have been an experienced soldier, for the Boer republics had been in almost constant conflict with their native inhabitants since their founding. As Commandant General he was nominally in command of all the Boer forces, both Transvaal and Orange Free State.
