Oliver Peter St. John was born February 27, 1938 in Victoria, British Columbia. He attended University of Lausanne in 1955 studying French language and literature. In 1960 he graduated from the University of British Columbia with a B.A. in Political Studies. In 1958 he was recognized as International Student of the Year. St. John received an M.A. in International Relations from the London School of Economics in 1963. This was followed by a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of London. He was a lecturer at the University College, London from 1963-1964. He joined the faculty of the University of Manitoba in 1964 as a lecturer in Political Studies. In 1966 he was named Assistant Professor. He obtained the rank of Associate Professor in 1972 and full Professor in the year of his retirement in 1998. The following year he was named Senior Scholar. He was awarded a SSHRC grant in 1982, a University of Manitoba Outreach Grant in 1996 and the Olive Beatrice Stanton Award for Teaching Excellence in 1997.

St. John is the author of several books and articles. They include Fireproof House to Third Option: Studies in the Theory and Practice of Canadian Foreign Policy (editor and contributor - University of Manitoba, 1977), MacKenzie King to Philosopher King: Canadian Foreign Policy in the Modern Age (editor and contributor - University of Manitoba, 1984), and Air Piracy, Airport Security and International Terrorism: Winning the War against Hijackers (Quoram Books, New York, 1991). He is the President of the Agassiz Institute for the Study of Conflict. He was the Director of Counter-Terror Study Centre in Winnipeg (1985-1993). He is a regular quarterly lecturer at the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School, Revolutionary Warfare Course in Hurlburt Field in Florida. In 1998 he became the ninth Earl of Orkney.