LEON, ANTHONY JAMES

LEON, ANTHONY JAMES (1956– ), South African political leader. The son of Judge Ramon Leon, he qualified as a lawyer at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and lectured there in Law from 1986 to 1989. In 1986–89, he was also city councilor and leader of opposition in Johannesburg, and thereafter a Member of Parliament for Houghton (1989–94), taking over in that constituency from veteran helen suzman . In 1994, he took over the leadership of the Democratic Party, which became the official opposition in Parliament following the elections of 1990. In 2000 the party joined forces with other smaller parties to form the Democratic Alliance (DA) under Leon's leadership. The DA strengthened its position as official opposition in the elections of 2004. Leon wrote Hope& Fear: Reflections of a Democrat (1998). (David Saks (2nd ed.)