- Rory Stewart
Rory Stewart OBE, born 1973, is a Scottish
writer . He was born inHong Kong , raised inMalaysia ,Vietnam andScotland and educated atDragon School , Eton andBalliol College, Oxford , where he studied history and philosophy. He was a summer tutor toPrince William andPrince Harry in the early 90s.After a brief period as an officer in the British Infantry (the
Black Watch ) , Stewart joined theForeign Office . He served in the British Embassy inIndonesia from 1997 to 1999, as the British Representative toMontenegro in the wake of theKosovo campaign and as Coalition Deputy Governor ofMaysan and Senior Advisor inDhi Qar , two provinces in southernIraq during 2003–2004. From 2004, he was a Fellow at theCarr Center for Human Rights Policy ,Harvard University ,United States . He has travelled extensively, notably inIraq andAfghanistan . From 2000-2002 he walked across Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Nepal, a journey of 6000 miles (done in two stages because of problems with the Taliban but without leaving Asia [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/photography/afghanistan/rory-stewart.html] ).His first book, "
The Places in Between " (2004), was a critically lauded account of his experiences in Afghanistan, and aNew York Times bestseller. It won theRoyal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize , a Scottish Arts Council prize and the Spirit of Scotland award in 2005 and was short-listed for theGuardian First Book Award and theJohn Llewellyn Rhys Prize . The book was adapted into a radio play byBenjamin Yeoh and was broadcast in 2007 on BBC Radio 4.His second book, "" (2006), outlines his experiences as deputy governorate co-ordinator (although Stewart has claimed his role was
deputy governor [http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7188; http://www.rorystewartbooks.com/rory_stewart.htm] ) of the Iraqiprovince ofMaysan and Senior Advisor in the province ofDhi Qar shortly after coalition forces enteredIraq and describes his struggles to establish a functional government in these regions. It was particularly well-reviewed in the UK and was short-listed for a number of major awards.Stewart, whose family come from Crieff in
Perthshire , has been awarded theOBE . Stewart currently lives in Kabul, where he is the Chief Executive of TheTurquoise Mountain Foundation .Turquoise Mountain is a not for profit, non governmental organisation whose mission it is to regenerate Afghanistan's traditional crafts and historic areas, creating jobs, skills, and a renewed sense of national identity.
Turquoise Mountain is working to regenerate Murad Khane, a district of
Kabul ’s old city. It has also established an Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture inKabul , which provides education for both men and women in traditional artisan skills, such as woodwork, calligraphy, ceramics and jewellery. In addition, it has a business development program which is working to revive Afghanistan’s traditional craft economy.Turquoise Mountain has received financial support from the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA ),The Prince's Charities Foundation and a number of other private foundations and individuals, from the Middle East, Europe, the US and Canada.Much of his journalism, as a guest columnist for the New York Times and in literary magazines such as the London and New York Review of Books has cautioned against over-ambitious foreign interventions, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a July 2008 cover for Time Magazine, Stewart, Senator McCain and Senator Obama held a three-way debate about foreign troop levels in Afghanistan.
On 25 January 2008 he was the guest on
BBC Radio 4 'sDesert Island Discs , choosing thedubplate "Gunman" as one of his chosen discs.In July 2008 he was made Ryan Professor of Human Rights at Harvard University and the Director of the Kennedy School's
Carr Center for Human Rights Policy . He combines the role with his charitable work in Afghanistan and the filming of a BBC documentary. He will assume this post on 1st of January, 2009.In August 2008, the UK media widely reported that Studio Canal and Brad Pitt's production company Plan B had bought Stewart's life rights. The actor Orlando Bloom will apparently play Stewart.
He has some acquaintance with French, Persian, Indonesian, Serbo-Croat,
Urdu and Nepali.Notes
Books
* "
The Places in Between ". Picador, 2004-2006.
* "". Harcourt, 2006. ISBN 0-15-101235-0.
* "". Picador, 2006. ISBN 0-33-044049-7.External links
Official
* [http://www.rorystewartbooks.com/index.htm Rory Stewart Books] , official books site.
* [http://www.turquoisemountain.org The Turquoise Mountain Foundation]
* [http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/cchrp/aboutus/pastfellows.php#rorystewart Biography and picture] , from Harvard's [http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/cchrp/ Carr Center for Human Rights Policy] .Articles
* [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n07/stew01_.html "Degrees of Not Knowing"] , by Rory Stewart in the "London Review of Books ", Vol. 27 No. 7 dated 31 March 2005. Concerning Iraq.
* [http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/news/opeds/2004/rory_stewart_enemy's_enemies_ft_091804.htm "My enemy's enemies"] , by Rory Stewart. Reprinted from the "Financial Times ", September 18, 2004. Concerning Afghanistan.
* [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v23/n17/stew01_.html "Diary"] , by Rory Stewart in the "London Review of Books ", Vol. 23 No. 17 dated 6 September 2001. Walk across Iran.
* [http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7111 "Losing the south"] , by Rory Stewart in "Prospect Magazine ", November 2005.
* [http://www.granta.com/Magazine/78 "Dervishes"] , by Rory Stewart in "Granta ", Jun 15, 2002
* [http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=3488 "Iranian girls"] , by Rory Stewart in "Prospect Magazine ", November 2001.Profiles
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1612374,00.html "Stewart of Afghanistan"] , profile by Aryn Baker in "Time ", April 19, 2007
* [http://heritage.scotsman.com/people.cfm?id=915492006 "In the thick of it"] , profile by David Robinson in "The Scotsman ", June 24, 2006
* [http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/features/article1094898.ece "Days of hope and hubris"] , interview by Robert Hanks in "The Independent ", June 23, 2006
* [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/photography/afghanistan/rory-stewart.html "Can Rory Stewart Fix Afghanistan?"] , profile by Paul Kvinta inNational Geographic Adventure Magazine Lectures
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeJTBn73M6Y "Authors @ Google: Rory Stewart"] . Discussion of his walk across Afghanistan and hisNGO , the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, atGoogle .
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