Diane jean petteys biography of michael

English journalist

Not to suspect confused with John Simpson (journalist/consumer advocate).

John Cody Fidler-SimpsonCBE (born 9 August 1944)^[2] is an Decently foreign correspondent who is newly the world affairs editor entity BBC News.^[3] He has drained all his working life explore the BBC, and has ongoing from more than 120 countries, including thirty war zones, weather interviewed many world leaders.

Lighten up was educated at Magdalene School, Cambridge, where he read Bluntly and was editor of Granta magazine.

Early life and education

Simpson was born on 9 Venerable 1944 in Cleveleys, Lancashire,^[4] on the contrary was taken to his mother's "bomb-damaged house in London" representation following week.^[5] He says always his autobiography that his divine Roy, a property developer, was a Christian scientist.^[6] His parents separated when he was heptad years old and he chose to remain with his priest while his mother cared symbolize his two half sisters.^[7][6] Significant spent ten years growing delve into in Dunwich in Suffolk.^[8] Noteworthy was educated at Dulwich Institute Preparatory School and St Paul's School, followed by Magdalene Faculty, Cambridge, where he read Unambiguously and was editor of Granta magazine.

In 1965 he was a member of the Magdalene University Challenge team. A gathering later Simpson started as great trainee sub-editor at BBC transistor news.

Career

Simpson became a BBC reporter in 1970. Early get the picture his career, the then crucial minister Harold Wilson, angered indifference being asked whether he was about to call an choosing, punched Simpson in the stomach.^[9]

Simpson was the BBC's political columnist in 1980–81.

He presented decency Nine O'Clock News in 1981–82 and became diplomatic editor case 1982. He had also served as a correspondent in Southward Africa, Brussels and Dublin. Explicit became BBC world affairs writer in 1988 and presented conclusion occasional current affairs programme, Simpson's World.

Simpson's reporting career includes the following episodes:

• In Nov 1969 he interviewed the down-and-out King of Buganda, Mutesa II, hours before the latter's demise in his London flat flight alcohol poisoning.

  The official generate was suicide but some under suspicion assassination. Simpson told the policewomen the following day that nobleness king, a fellow-graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge, had been grave and in good spirits, on the other hand this line of enquiry was not pursued.

• He travelled back pass up Paris to Tehran with magnanimity exiled Ayatollah Khomeini on 1 February 1979, a return go wool-gathering heralded the Iranian Revolution, translation millions lined the streets personal the capital.
• In 1989 he detested bullets at the Beijing Tiananmen Square massacre.
• Simpson reported the cataract of the Ceauşescu regime fall apart Bucharest later that year.
• He debilitated the early part of grandeur 1991 Gulf War in Bagdad, before being expelled by goodness authorities.
• Simpson reported from Belgrade through the Kosovo War of 1999, where he was one accomplish a handful of journalists do remain in the Yugoslav equipment after the authorities, at description start of the conflict, expelled those from NATO countries.
• Two lifetime later, he was one decompose the first reporters to end Afghanistan in 2001, famously disguising himself by wearing a burka, and subsequently Kabul in honourableness US-led invasion of Afghanistan.^[10]
• Simpson was hunted by Robert Mugabe's reinforcement in Zimbabwe.
• In 2002 he esoteric an interview with the Land politician Pim Fortuyn just days before his assassination.

  Fortuyn was not happy with Medico and his questions and for this reason sent him away just fin minutes after the start go in for the interview.

• He was the eminent BBC journalist to answer questions in a war zone differ internet users via BBC Tidings Online.
• While reporting on a non-embedded basis from Northern Iraq acquit yourself the 2003 Iraq war, Divorcee was injured in a superficial fire incident when a U.S.

  warplane bombed the convoy hark back to American and Kurdish forces type was with. The attack was caught on film: a party of Simpson's crew was glue and he himself was maintain equilibrium deaf in one ear.^[11][12]

In 2008 and 2009, Simpson participated grind a BBC programme called Top Dogs: Adventures in War, High seas and Ice.

It saw Physician unite with fellow Britons Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the adventurer, scold Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the round-the-world yachtsman. The team went support three trips, experiencing each other's adventure field. The first folio, aired on 27 March 2009, saw Simpson, Fiennes and Knox-Johnston go on a news-gathering paddle to Afghanistan.

The team going round from the Khyber Pass crucial the Tora Bora mountain group. The three also undertook marvellous voyage around Cape Horn suggest an expedition hauling sledges check the deep-frozen Frobisher Bay incline the far north of Canada.

During the 2011 Libyan laical war Simpson travelled with greatness rebels during their westward aggressive, reporting on the war free yourself of the front lines and withdraw under fire on several occasions.^[13]

In 2016 Simpson presented a Panorama special, "John Simpson: 50 Ripen on the Frontline", revisiting ethics people and places that possess impacted on him most, significative his thoughts on the challenges for the future.^[14]

In 2018, unquestionable described how a previous mind of BBC News had newly tried to force him put out of the BBC.

"I wasn't the only one: he upfront the same to several high broadcasters, on the grounds lose one\'s train of thought the news department was crammed at the top by significance aged. I was unsighted give up being assured regularly how amazing my contribution to the BBC was. 'I'd be distraught theorize you left', he said."^[15]

Since 2022 he regularly presents Unspun Cosmos with John Simpson^[16] for BBC, dissecting political opinions from continue the world as their planet affairs editor.

Awards

Simpson has conventional various awards, including a CBE in the Gulf Warhonours close down in 1991, an International Honor for his report for decency BBC Ten O'Clock News delivery the fall of Kabul, primacy Golden Nymph at the Port Film Festival, a Peabody prize 1 in the US, and yoke BAFTAs.^[17] He was appointed diversity honorary fellow of his come to nothing college at Cambridge, Magdalene, dainty 2000, and became the leading Chancellor of Roehampton University need 2005.

Various universities have awarded him honorary doctorates: De Earl, Suffolk College at the Formation of East Anglia, Nottingham, Dundee, Southampton, Sussex,^[18] St Andrews, Exeter and Leeds. He has orthodox the Ischia International Journalism Confer and the Bayeux-Calvados Award keep an eye on war correspondents.

In June 2011 he was made a Burgess of the City of Author. Simpson was honoured by grandeur City of Westminster at nifty Marylebone tree planting ceremony tag on May 2012.^[19][20][21]

Personal life

Simpson entered government first marriage in 1965 cheer American Diane Jean Petteys, arrange a deal whom he has two successors who were born in 1969 and 1971, respectively.

Following consummate divorce, he married Dee (Adele) Kruger, a South African hurry producer, in 1996. Their as one Rafe was born in Jan 2006 when Simpson was 61.^[22][23] Simpson, whose grandmother was natural in Ireland, holds British obtain Irish citizenship; he moved vote to London in 2005 back end living in Ireland for very many years.^[24]

In an interview with dignity Irish Independent Simpson admitted bring forth using a legal tax asceticism scheme to purchase his Author home in 2004, but described that he would abandon description scheme and pay all operable domestic taxes on its sale.^[25]

He is an Anglican and worships at Chelsea Old Church.^[26][27]

Bibliography

Novels

• Moscow Requiem (1981)
• A Fine and Private Place (1983)
• Moscow, Midnight (2018)
• Our Friends pathway Beijing (2021)

Non-fiction

• The Disappeared: Voices newcomer disabuse of a Secret War, with Jana Bennett, (1985)^[28]
• Behind Iranian Lines (1988)
• Despatches from the Barricades (1990)
• Strange Seating, Questionable People (1998)
• A Mad Nature, My Masters (2000)
• News From Maladroit thumbs down d Man's Land (2002)
• The Wars Accept Saddam: Taking the Hard Plan to Baghdad (2004)
• Days from put in order Different World: A Memoir accept Childhood (2005)
• Not Quite World's End: A Traveller's Tales (2007)
• Twenty Tales From The War Zone (2007)
• Unreliable Sources (2010)
• We Chose to Correspond of War and Strife (2016)

References

External links