Alan Rake (born 1933) is an English journalist and writer about Africa.
Life
Alan Rake was educated at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, where he studied
Philosophy, politics and economics.
He was invited by
Jim Bailey, also educated at Oxford, to work for ''
Drum'' magazine.
In the late 1950s he opened a
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
office for the magazine, working as its East African editor. In the early 1960s he briefly worked for ''Drum'' in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, and as General Manager of ''Drum'' in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
, before continuing to work for East African ''Drum'' as a London-based editor.
In 1968 he was briefly editor of the newsletter ''
Africa Confidential''.
In 1969 he started editing the monthly London-based ''
African Development'' magazine, later renamed ''New African''. He remained there as editor until his retirement in 1999.
Works
* (with John Dickie) ''Who's who in Africa; the political, military and business leaders of Africa''. London: African Buyer and Trader, 1973.
* ''Who's Who in Africa: leaders for the 1990s''. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1992.
* ''100 Great Africans''. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1994.
References
1933 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Oxford
{{England-writer-stub