John J. Stephens

I am a retired South African advocate, entrepreneur, and former parliamentarian. I was first elected to Parliament as a member of the opposition in 1970. At 24 years old, I was at that time the youngest MP ever elected since the formation of the Union in 1910. I left Parliament in 1974. I remained active in politics and served as the Transvaal leader of the New Republic Party from 1980. I re-entered Parliament in 2004 as Finance Spokesperson and member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA).

I graduated with a BA in law and political science from the University of the Witwatersrand and practiced law for 10 years as an advocate of the Supreme Court. This included a stint of three years as a senior state advocate in the Office of the Attorney General of the then Transvaal province.

I entered the business world as an entrepreneur in 1982. I was fascinated by finance, banking, and trading. As a US-qualified futures and options trader, I wrote five books on trading with futures and options in business and investment settings. In 2006 I was named Best Student in the programme in Economics and Public Finance of the University of South Africa (UNISA). In 2017, I obtained a PhD in Development Studies from the University of the Western Cape. In 2019 I passed "Social Anthropology: An Introduction 2" from Oxford University.

I have now embarked on my lifelong ambition of writing action/adventure thrillers. My first book is titled "Shadow of the Odin" and will be available on Amazon early in 2026.