Olivier Weber (born 1958) is a French writer, novelist and reporter at large, known primarily for his coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been a war correspondent for twenty-five years, especially in Central Asia, Africa, Middle-East and Iraq. He is an assistant professor at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris, president of the Prize Joseph Kessel and today ambassador of France at large. Weber has won several national and international awards of literature and journalism, in particular for his stories on Afghanistan and for his books on wars. His novels, travels writing books and essays have been translated in a dozen of languages.

Biography

Weber, born in 1958 in

Montluçon Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ...

, studied economics and anthropology at the University of San Francisco, University of Paris Sorbonne, University of Nice (PhD) and at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, INALCO). He won the

Albert Londres Albert Londres (1 November 1884 – 16 May 1932) was a French journalist and writer. One of the inventors of investigative journalism, Londres not only reported news but created it, and reported it from a personal perspective. He criticized abu ...

Prize and Joseph Kessel Prize for his reports on wars and books.

The guerrilla years

Assistant professor at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po), he began his career in journalism in California. Then he was sent in Africa for the French daily ''Liberation'', to cover several wars and conflicts. He joined the French weekly ''

Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and news magazine published in Paris. History and profile ''Le Point'' was founded in September 1972 by a group of journalists who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of '' L'Express'', w ...

'' as a journalist and later was appointed foreign correspondent. As a war correspondent, he has traveled with dozens of guerrillas and armed movements. He has covered around twenty wars and conflicts, including wars and armed conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Burma, Kurdistan,

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

, Israel, the Palestinian territories,

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

, Pakistan,

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

, Algeria, Iran, Armenia, Russia, Kosovo,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Western Sahara, East Timor, and

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

. He has interviewed among others the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Indian President

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

, Pakistani Prime Minister

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Commander

Ahmad Shah Massoud ) , branch = Jamiat-e Islami / Shura-e Nazar Afghan Armed Forces United Islamic Front , serviceyears = 1975–2001 , rank = General , unit = , commands = Mujahideen commander during the Soviet–Afghan Wa ...

, Iraki President Jalal Talabani, Philippines President

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Massud Barzani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. His style as a writer is sometimes compared to that of

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...

, Chatwin and

Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European mod ...

. He has traveled the world, from the United States to China and from Africa to the East, which became his passion. He brought from these trips and stays several stories, surveys and novels, including ''Dragon Hunters: Opiomistan trip'', and ''The White Death'' on the world of drug dealers.]

The committed writer

Committed writer, Olivier Weber has written on a lot of lost causes and indigenous people. He has defended in particular the resistance of South Sudan and has denounced the slavery of Sudanese children. He participated at the operations of saving the boat people, in the China Sea, with volunteers of the international NGO Doctors of the World (

Médecins du Monde ''Médecins du monde'' (MdM; ), or Doctors of the World, is an international humanitarian organization which provides emergency and long-term medical care to the world's most vulnerable people. It also advocates to end health inequities. It was f ...

). He has also defended the Afghan

mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...

during the war against the Soviet army and then against the pro-communist regime of Najibullah and had traveled several times with the rebels and Commander

Massoud Massoud (, ) is a given name and a surname, commonly found in the Middle East and Asia. It has a variety of spellings including Masoud, Masud, Massoude, Massudeh, Masood, Masʽud, Masud, Mashud, Messaoud, Mesut, Mesud, or Mosād. People with the na ...

. After criticizing the regime of the Taliban, he was expelled from Afghanistan by the militias of Mollah Umar. His denunciation of human trafficking by the Tamil Tigers of

and disposal of their prisoners, after several trips to the bush, brought him new threats. The plane he was to take from Jaffna to Colombo was deliberately shot down by fighters of the armed movement. Following an expedition with one of the Burmese guerrillas, he met secretly in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. After winning the award Joseph-Kessel Prize, he was nominated president of the prize in 2001. In August 2001, he traveled to Central Asia to launch a humanitarian mission in the Panjshir Valley and bring to

proofs of his book ''The Afghan Hawk''. A few days later, 9 September 2001, two days before the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Lion of Panjshir was assassinated by two terrorists of

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

. Olivier Weber was to attend his funeral, when the Taliban launched a major offensive. His testimony and his denunciation of the Taliban regime and the rise of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia have earned him death threats. He has published several books on Central Asia and the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

: ''The Great Feast of the East'', ''The Afghan Hawk: a journey to the land of the Taliban'', ''Memory Murdered'', ''Road of Drugs'', ''The White Death''. He has denounced the impunity of the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

in the mountains of western Cambodia, after meeting the underground movement leaders Ieng Sary and Khieu Samphan, both former deputies of

Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...

. In May 2009, he presented the Joseph-Kessel Prize to the writer and member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

Érik Orsenna Érik Orsenna is the pen-name of Érik Arnoult (born 22 March 1947) a French politician and novelist. After studying philosophy and political science at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris ("Sciences Po"), Orsenna specialized in econom ...

for his fight for water and his latest book. The film of his book Cursed for Gold (La Fièvre de l'or), a travelogue on human trafficking in the Amazon and other traffickings related to deforestation and the massacre of Native Americans, was the subject of remarkable press and has been described as a witness in the vein of '' Darwin's Nightmare'' and ''

Blood Diamond ''Blood Diamond'' is a 2006 American political war action thriller film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds min ...

''. His essay on Joseph Kessel, "Kessel, The Eternal Nomad", highlights the commitment of the reporter and member of the French Academy. He has also written the biographies of Joseph Conrad, Jack London and Ella Maillart. He is a member of the Albert Londres Award's jury. Author and writer of documentaries, he is also editor of the series "Writers travelers".

The ambassador

Olivier Weber was nominated in 2008 to be ambassador of France at large, in charge of human trafficking and human rights. He has done several dozens of missions for this task in Asia, Africa, Central America, Middle East, and advocates at the tribune of the United Nations mainly on human trafficking, child soldiers, fight against drugs, civil society and human rights. He is a lecturer (maître de conférences) at the Institute of Political Studies of Paris ( Institut d'études politiques de Paris or Sciences-Po), where he teaches the

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...

. He has completed from 1983 to 2011 more than 20 terrain-researches as a war observer in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Algeria, Syria, Erytrea, Sudan, Iran, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan. He has received several awards and prizes of literature and journalism, among them the prestigious

Albert Londres Prize The Albert Londres Prize is the highest French journalism award, named in honor of journalist Albert Londres. Created in 1932, it was first awarded in 1933 and is considered the French equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. Three laureates are awarded ...

, considered the French Pulitzer prize, for his articles and reports. and the Joseph Kessel Prize for his books. He is a selection committee member for literature awards and member of the Société des Explorateurs Français (Society of the French Explorers).

Literature and journalism prizes and awards

* Prize Lazareff 1991 * Prix Albert Londres 1992 * Special Prize of War correspondents 1997 * Second Prize of War correspondents 1997 * Prize Joseph Kessel 1998 * Prize Mumm 1999 * Prize of Adventure 1999 * Graduate of the Foundation Journalist Tomorrow * Prize of the FIPA (International Festival of Audiovisual Programmes) 2001 * Laureate of Audiovisual 2001 * Prize Louis Pauwels 2002 * Special Prize of the International Festival of News Reporting (Festival international de grand reportage d'actualités) 2003 * Prize of the Public of the International Festival of News Reporting (Festival international de grand reportage d'actualités) 2003 * Prize Cabourg 2004 * Prize of the Academy of Vichy 2005 * Laureate of the fellowship "Writers Stendhal", 2001 and 2005 * Trophy of the Adventure for the film ''Cursed for Gold'' (''La Fièvre de l'or''), adapted from his book ''I will have gold'' (''J'aurai de l'or'') on Amazonia, 2008 * Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur en 2009 * Prize Terra Festival 2010 * Prize Amerigo Vespucci 2011 * Prize of the Novelists 2016 * Special Prize of the International Adventure Film Festival, La Rochelle, 2017 * Jury Prize, Meeting of Adventure, 2017 * Prize of the European and Mediterranean Book 2017 * Pierre Loti Prize, 2023

Novels, essays and travel writing books

* In the eye of the archangel, Life and death of

Gerda Taro Gerta Pohorylle (1 August 1910 – 26 July 1937), known professionally as Gerda Taro, was a German Jewish war photographer active during the Spanish Civil War. She is regarded as the first woman photojournalist to have died while covering the ...

, (Dans l'oeil de l'archange) (Calmann-Lévy, 2023) * Birth of a European Nation - Reflections on the Ukrainian Question (Naissance d'une nation européenne- Réflexions sur la question ukrainienne)(Aube, 2022) * Massoud, the murdered rebel (Massoud, le rebelle assassiné (Aube, 2021) * In the Kingdom of Light, A travel in Himalaya (Au Royaume de la lumière) (Terre Humaine, 2020). * If I forget you Kurdistan (Si je t'oublie Kurdistan) (Aube, 2020) * The Hinterland (L'Arrière-pays) (Calmann-Lévy, 2020) * Borders (Frontières) (Paulsen, 2016) * Jack London, The Call of the big spleen dreams (Paulsen, 2016) * The Enchantment of the World (L'Enchantement du monde) (Flammarion, 2015) * Massoud's Confession (La Confession de Massoud) (Flammarion, 2013) * The Unpunished, A travel in the banality of evil (Les Impunis) (Robert Laffont, 2013) * The Barbary Corsair (Le Barbaresque) (Flammarion, 2011) * Conrad, the Traveller of concern (Arthaud-Flammarion, 2011) * I will have gold (J'aurai de l'or) (Robert Laffont, 2008) * Is Tibet a lost cause? (Le Tibet est-il une cause perdue?), (Larousse, 2008) * The White Death (La mort blanche) (Albin Michel, 2007) * On the Silk Roads (Sur les routes de la soie) (avec Reza, (Hoëbeke, 2007) * Kessel, the eternal nomad (Kessel, le nomade éternel) (Arthaud, 2006) * The Angels battle (La Bataille des anges) (Albin Michel, 2006) * The Big Feast of the East (Le grand festin de l'Orient) (Robert Laffont, 2004) * Memory murdered (La Mémoire assassinée) (Mille et une nuits, 2004) * I am from nowhere: on the tracks of Ella Maillart (Je suis de nulle part : sur les traces d’Ella Maillart), (Éditions Payot, 2003) * Humanitaires (Le Félin, 2002) * La mémoire assassinée (Mille et Une Nuits, 2001) * Le faucon afghan : un voyage au pays des talibans (Robert Laffont, 2001) * On ne se tue pas pour une femme (Plon, 2000) * Dragon Hunters: a stay in Opiumistan (Chasseurs de dragons : voyage en Opiomie) (Payot), 2000) * The Slave children (Les Enfants esclaves) (Mille et une nuits, 1999) * Lucien Bodard, un aventurier dans le siècle (Plon, 1997) * Road of drugs (La route de la drogue) ( Arléa, 1996) * French doctors : L’épopée des hommes et des femmes qui ont inventé la médecine humanitaire (Robert Laffont, 1995) * Voyage au pays de toutes les Russies (Éditions Quai Voltaire, 1992)

Filmography

Olivier Weber is the author, director and screenwriter of several films for television and theater, in particular on travels and on writers. * Documentary : Sudan: The Slave Children, France 2, 1998 * Documentary : The Opium of talibans, French channels and theaters, 2001, Special Prize of FIPA * Documentary : Return to Cambodia, France 5, 2002 3 * Documentary : On the road of Ganga, Arte, 2003, prize of the Public of Figra and Prize of Image of Figra * Documentary : On the road of Nile, France 5, 2007 * Documentary : The People of Opium (Le Peuple de l'opium), Canal Plus, 2007 * Documentary : Cursed for Gold (La Fièvre de l'Or), Canal Plus and France 2, in French theaters in October 2008Cursed for Gold Cannes Film Festival http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5cvnl_cursed-for-gold-the-new-gold-rush-i_shortfilms * Documentary : Blood-red Gemstones, (Les Rubis des khmers rouges), France 2, 2011 * Documentary :

The World seen from the train ''The World seen from the train'' (''Le monde vu du train'') is a French adventure travel television series presented and directed by Olivier Weber, an award-winning writer, novelist and reporter, known primarily for his coverage of the wars in ...

, French channels, 2010–2016 * Documentary : Beyond the light, France 3, 2017 * Documentary : Mustang, France 5 and Voyage, 2020.

References

External links

* Albert Londres Prize, journalism award for the"best reporter in the written press"
Olivier Weber's biography

Article of Lire
*
Article of L'Express

The Prize Joseph Kessel

Amazing Travellers

Geopolicy of Global Trafficking

Info Culture : A travel writer and reporter at large

The Prize Kessel au Amazing Travellers Festival

A travel as Cendrars

Cannes Film Festival Screening

Officiel site of the movie La Fièvre de l'or

National Center of the Book

Alchemy damages the Amazon Basin

Article in Le Figaro

Center of Research on Literature of Travel

Evene.fr : The Gold and the blood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Olivier French male novelists French travel writers Postmodern writers 21st-century travel writers War correspondents of the Iraq War War correspondents of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) French war correspondents 1958 births 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists 20th-century French journalists 21st-century French journalists French historical novelists Albert Londres Prize recipients Joseph Kessel Prize recipients Ambassadors of France People from Montluçon School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences alumni Knights of the Legion of Honour French documentary film directors University of San Francisco alumni Academic staff of Sciences Po French male essayists 20th-century French essayists 21st-century French essayists Living people 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers