Michael Holman (born 23 December 1945) is a British journalist and writer. He was the Africa Editor of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' from 1984 to 2002 and has written several novels and an autobiography. He was born in Penzance, Cornwall, but his parents emigrated to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...

when he was two. He was educated at

Chaplin High School Chaplin High School is situated in Gweru, Zimbabwe, and was started in October 1902. It was started in a building of the Trinity Church, Gwelo and first named as the Trinity Church School (1). The school caters for boys and girls from form 1– ...

and studied English at

University College of Rhodesia The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University o ...

where he was awarded a BA in 1968. Holman was the co-editor of ''Black & White'', a satirical magazine. The publication was banned by the Rhodesian government and he was arrested in August 1968 and restricted to his home town of

Gwelo Gweru is a city in central Zimbabwe. Near the geographical centre of the country. It is on the centre of Midlands Province. Originally an area known to the Ndebele as "The Steep Place" because of the Gweru River's high banks, in 1894 it became ...

under the Law & Order (Maintenance) Act. In August 1969 the order was extended for a further year. He was granted an exit permit to attend the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and was awarded an MSc in Politics in 1971. From 1972 he worked as a freelance journalist based in London. In 1977 he was appointed Africa correspondent for the ''Financial Times'', based in Lusaka,

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

and in 1984 he was promoted to Africa Editor. In his late 30s, Holman was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, and has written on the experience of undergoing deep brain simulation surgery.

Novels

Holman has written three novels and an autobiography: * ''Last Orders at Harrods'', Polygon, 2005 * ''Fatboy and the Dancing Ladies'', Polygon, 2007 * ''Dizzy Worms'', Polygon, 2010 * ''Postmark Africa: Half A Century As A Foreign Correspondent'', EnvelopeBooks, 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, Michael Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London University of Zimbabwe alumni Living people 1945 births Alumni of Chaplin High School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Financial Times people