Deon du Plessis

Deon Jean du Plessis was a veteran South African journalist who founded the Daily Sun newspaper in July 2002, serving as its publisher until his sudden death at the age of 59 in 2011 from acute bronchitis.

Deon du Plessis' journalism career began in the 1970s with the Argus Publishing Group, owners of The Star, which became the Independent Media Group in 1994. Before becoming a journalist, the young du Plessis first served as a military trainee with the South African government in Namibia. As a journalist he covered the political squabbles and wars between freedom fighters and the colonial governments of Mozambique and Angola while a foreign correspondent for Argus Africa news service across the 1970s and 1980s. Max du Preez first met du Plessis in Angola in 1978 while they both covered the Angolan War for their respective media houses. Du Plessis then became the deputy editor of Argus News, Sowetan and Sunday Tribune. He was then appointed the editor of Pretoria News afterwards and was later made the managing director of all of Independent Media Group's Gauteng newspapers.