He was educated at Dale College Boys' High School in King William's Town in the Eastern Cape and later studied at the University of Cape Town.
[2] In the United States, he specialized in the fields of politics, economics and foreign affairs.
He was survived by his wife, Helmine and their three children (two daughters, Danielle, a housewife, and Jaqueline, a reporter, and a son, Phillip, a lawyer).
He later returned to South Africa and became political and parliamentary reporter for The Star in Johannesburg in 1963.
He also contributed to the Christian Science Monitor, the Financial Times and the Daily Express.