George Alagiah
Encyclopedia
George Maxwell Alagiah OBE
(icon; born 22 November 1955 in Colombo
, Ceylon) is a British newsreader
, journalist
and television news presenter
.
Since 3 December 2007, he has been the sole presenter of the BBC News at Six and has also been the main presenter of GMT
on BBC World News since its launch on 1 February 2010. He is also the main relief presenter for the BBC's flagship bulletin BBC News at Ten and has held this role since its launch in 2000, making him the longest serving presenter of the flagship news programme.
in West Africa
, where he did his primary education at Christ the King International School. He spent his secondary education at St John's College
, an independent Catholic
boarding school
in Southsea
, England
, after which he read politics at Van Mildert College
, Durham University
. Whilst at Durham, he wrote for and became editor of the student newspaper Palatinate and was a sabbatical officer of Durham Students' Union
. He worked on South Magazine from 1982 until joining the BBC
, where he was the Developing World correspondent based in London and then Southern Africa
correspondent in Johannesburg
.
In 2004, he returned to his grandfather's original home in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami
to survey the damage. The family's former home had been destroyed, though he was able to recognise an old well he had played at with his sisters, although the well was unsalvageable.
He is married to Frances Robathan.
in 1989 after seven years in print journalism with South Magazine. Before going behind the studio desk, George was one of the BBC's leading foreign correspondents, reporting on events ranging from the genocide in Rwanda
, the plight of the Marsh Arabs
in southern Iraq
and civil wars in Afghanistan
, Liberia
, Sierra Leone
and Somalia
.
He was the presenter of BBC Four News from its launch in 2002; the programme was later relaunched as The World. and in January 2003 he joined the BBC News at Six, which he co-presented with Sophie Raworth
until October 2005, and with Natasha Kaplinsky
until October 2007. Since 3 December 2007, he has been the sole presenter of the Six O'Clock News. Prior to that, he had been the deputy anchor of the BBC News at One from 1999. From the 3 July 2006, he presented World News Today
on BBC World News, which was rebranded GMT
on the 1 February 2010. He is also a relief presenter on BBC News at Ten presenting mainly Monday - Thursday when Fiona Bruce
is unavailable.
A specialist on Africa and the developing world, Alagiah has interviewed, among others, Nelson Mandela
, Archbishop Desmond Tutu
, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan
and President Robert Mugabe
of Zimbabwe
. His other documentaries and features include reports on why affirmative action
in America is a 'Lost Cause', for the Assignment programme, Saddam Hussein
's genocidal campaign against the Kurds of northern Iraq for the BBC's Newsnight
programme and a report on the last reunion of the veterans of Dunkirk.
in 1993 and Amnesty International
's Best TV Journalist award in 1994. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours
.
His appearances at literary festivals include Cheltenham
, Keswick
, Hay-on-Wye
and London, and he has spoken at the Royal Geographical Society
, the Royal Society of Arts
and at the Royal Overseas League. He is on the Board of the Royal Shakespeare Company
.
From 2002-09 George Alagiah was a patron of the Fairtrade Foundation from which in July 2009, he was obliged to resign by BBC Management who claimed professional conflict of interest. Complaints were received at the BBC from the public who were unhappy that Alagiah had been asked to step down. The BBC responded that in keeping with its principles of impartiality, it would be inappropriate for one of its leading journalists to be seen supporting a movement that clearly represents a controversial view of global trade. He has also been actively involved in supporting microfinance as a tool for development, including recent appearances in support of Opportunity International.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(icon; born 22 November 1955 in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Ceylon) is a British newsreader
Newsreader
Newsreader can refer to:* Newsreader , a computer program for reading Usenet newsgroups* News presenter, a person that presents a news show on television, radio or the Internet...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and television news presenter
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
.
Since 3 December 2007, he has been the sole presenter of the BBC News at Six and has also been the main presenter of GMT
GMT (programme)
GMT is a news programme on BBC World News that first premiered on 1 February 2010. The programme is hosted by George Alagiah on Monday-Thursday and Stephen Sackur on Friday. Each programme begins with the presenter giving the headlines then turning to the first story, giving the time in that part...
on BBC World News since its launch on 1 February 2010. He is also the main relief presenter for the BBC's flagship bulletin BBC News at Ten and has held this role since its launch in 2000, making him the longest serving presenter of the flagship news programme.
Background
Alagiah's parents, Donald Alagiah, an engineer, and Therese, were Tamils. In 1961 his parents moved to GhanaGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, where he did his primary education at Christ the King International School. He spent his secondary education at St John's College
St John's College (Portsmouth)
St John's College is an independent Catholic day and boarding school in Southsea, Hampshire, England run by the De La Salle brothers. St John's caters for students between the ages of 2 and 18 aiming towards the national assessments of GCSE at 16 and A-Level at 18.Established in 1908 as an all-male...
, an independent Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Southsea
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, after which he read politics at Van Mildert College
Van Mildert College
Van Mildert College, commonly known as Mildert, is a college of the University of Durham in England. Founded in 1965, it takes its name from William Van Mildert, Prince-Bishop of Durham from 1826 to 1836 and a leading figure in the University's 1832 foundation.Van Mildert College occupies grounds...
, Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
. Whilst at Durham, he wrote for and became editor of the student newspaper Palatinate and was a sabbatical officer of Durham Students' Union
Durham Students' Union
The Durham Students' Union is a body, set up as the Durham Colleges Students’ Representative Council in 1899 and renamed in 1969, with the intention of representing and providing welfare and services for the students of the University of Durham in England.-Location:DSU occupies and manages Dunelm...
. He worked on South Magazine from 1982 until joining the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, where he was the Developing World correspondent based in London and then Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
correspondent in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
.
In 2004, he returned to his grandfather's original home in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
to survey the damage. The family's former home had been destroyed, though he was able to recognise an old well he had played at with his sisters, although the well was unsalvageable.
He is married to Frances Robathan.
Broadcasting career
Alagiah joined the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1989 after seven years in print journalism with South Magazine. Before going behind the studio desk, George was one of the BBC's leading foreign correspondents, reporting on events ranging from the genocide in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, the plight of the Marsh Arabs
Marsh Arabs
The Marsh Arabs , also known as the Maʻdān , are inhabitants of the Tigris-Euphrates marshlands in the south and east of Iraq and along the Iranian border....
in southern 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....
and civil wars in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
He was the presenter of BBC Four News from its launch in 2002; the programme was later relaunched as The World. and in January 2003 he joined the BBC News at Six, which he co-presented with Sophie Raworth
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Jane Raworth is an English newsreader and journalist who works for British broadcaster the BBC. She is the main presenter of the BBC News at One, presenting Tuesday to Friday, and regularly appears on the BBC News at Six and occasionally on BBC News at Ten.-Early life:Born in Surrey to a...
until October 2005, and with Natasha Kaplinsky
Natasha Kaplinsky
Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky is a British newsreader and television presenter, currently employed by ITV having previously worked for Channel 5, Sky News and the BBC...
until October 2007. Since 3 December 2007, he has been the sole presenter of the Six O'Clock News. Prior to that, he had been the deputy anchor of the BBC News at One from 1999. From the 3 July 2006, he presented World News Today
World News Today
World News Today is a current affairs news programme produced by BBC News and presented by Zeinab Badawi. It was originally conceived as a morning television show aimed at American audiences, hosted by George Alagiah, but later expanded to six editions a day aimed at different markets...
on BBC World News, which was rebranded GMT
GMT (programme)
GMT is a news programme on BBC World News that first premiered on 1 February 2010. The programme is hosted by George Alagiah on Monday-Thursday and Stephen Sackur on Friday. Each programme begins with the presenter giving the headlines then turning to the first story, giving the time in that part...
on the 1 February 2010. He is also a relief presenter on BBC News at Ten presenting mainly Monday - Thursday when Fiona Bruce
Fiona Bruce
Fiona Elizabeth Bruce is a British journalist, newsreader and television presenter. Since joining the BBC in 1989, she has gone on to present many flagship programmes for the corporation including the BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, Crimewatch, Call My Bluff and, most recently, Antiques Roadshow...
is unavailable.
A specialist on Africa and the developing world, Alagiah has interviewed, among others, Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
and President Robert Mugabe
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. His other documentaries and features include reports on why affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
in America is a 'Lost Cause', for the Assignment programme, Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's genocidal campaign against the Kurds of northern Iraq for the BBC's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
programme and a report on the last reunion of the veterans of Dunkirk.
Awards and interests
In 2000, Alagiah was part of the BBC team which collected a BAFTA award for its coverage of the Kosovo conflict. He has won numerous awards including Best International Report at the Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
in 1993 and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's Best TV Journalist award in 1994. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours
New Year Honours 2008
The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008....
.
His appearances at literary festivals include Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, Keswick
Keswick, Cumbria
Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
, Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...
and London, and he has spoken at the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
and at the Royal Overseas League. He is on the Board of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
.
From 2002-09 George Alagiah was a patron of the Fairtrade Foundation from which in July 2009, he was obliged to resign by BBC Management who claimed professional conflict of interest. Complaints were received at the BBC from the public who were unhappy that Alagiah had been asked to step down. The BBC responded that in keeping with its principles of impartiality, it would be inappropriate for one of its leading journalists to be seen supporting a movement that clearly represents a controversial view of global trade. He has also been actively involved in supporting microfinance as a tool for development, including recent appearances in support of Opportunity International.