David Hirst (journalist)
Encyclopedia
David Hirst is a veteran Middle East
correspondent
based in Beirut
. He attended Rugby School
from 1949 to 1954 and performed his national service in Egypt
and Cyprus
from 1954 to 1956. From 1956 to 1963 he studied at Oxford University and the American University of Beirut
. He reported for the Guardian
from 1963 to 1997 and has also written for the Christian Science Monitor, the Irish Times, the St. Petersburg Times
, Newsday
, the San Francisco Chronicle
and the Daily Star
. He was kidnapped twice (including one kidnapping in Beirut from which he escaped on by bolting from his captors' automobile in a Shia neighborhood of Beirut. ) and was banned at various times from visiting six Arab countries, including Egypt
, Syria
, Saudi Arabia
and Iraq
. He continues to contribute to the Guardian and to other newspapers around the world.
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
based in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. He attended Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
from 1949 to 1954 and performed his national service in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
from 1954 to 1956. From 1956 to 1963 he studied at Oxford University and the American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
. He reported for the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
from 1963 to 1997 and has also written for the Christian Science Monitor, the Irish Times, the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
, Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
and the Daily Star
Daily Star (Lebanon)
The Daily Star is a pan-Middle East English language newspaper edited in Beirut. It was founded in 1952 by Kamel Mrowa, the publisher of the Arabic daily Al-Hayat to serve the growing number of expatriates brought by the oil industry...
. He was kidnapped twice (including one kidnapping in Beirut from which he escaped on by bolting from his captors' automobile in a Shia neighborhood of Beirut. ) and was banned at various times from visiting six Arab countries, including Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. He continues to contribute to the Guardian and to other newspapers around the world.
Books
- Oil and Public Opinion in the Middle East (1966) ISBN 0-571-06593-7
- Sadat (1981) ISBN 0-571-11690-6
- The Gun and the Olive Branch (2003) ISBN 0-571-21945-4
- Beware of Small States: Lebanon, Battleground of the Middle East (2010) ISBN 9780571237418
External links
- http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_hirst/profile.html Profile at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
] - Guardian columns
- http://www.thenation.com/directory/bios/david_hirstBrief biography and articles from The NationThe NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
] - Excerpt from The Gun and the Olive Branch
- Interview with David Hirst about "Beware of Small States" in www.theglobaldispatches.com