HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tanveer Ahmed (born 1975) is a Bangladeshi born Australian
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
, journalist and television presenter.


Early life

Ahmed was born in Bangladesh in 1975. He and his parents moved to Australia in 1981, and settled in
Toongabbie Toongabbie is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. One of the oldest suburbs in Sydney, Toongabbie is located approximately 30 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater Western ...
, in the western suburbs of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
. He won a scholarship to
Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman = ...
and went on to the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...
, where he studied medicine, graduating in 2000. He also had a stint writing for the university's ''
Honi Soit ''Honi Soit'' is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. The name is an abbrevia ...
'' magazine. He represented the
Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not re ...
as the national representative for training doctors in 2006–07.


Media career

Besides being a doctor, Ahmed has also been a journalist for SBS TV and appeared regularly on radio and television discussing issues pertaining to multiculturalism and mental health issues. He was a regular contributor to major newspapers, most commonly the ''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
''. In 2007, Ahmed appeared as the Bingo Commissioner in
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
's game show, '' National Bingo Night''. In 2011 his memoir, entitled ''The Exotic Rissole'', was published. ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
s
Michael Wilding Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding (23 July 1912 – 8 July 1979) was an English stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle; he also made two films with Alfred Hitchcock, ''Under Capric ...
called it "a gentle and genial memoir of the migrant experience.", while Tory Shepherd gave it a 2 1/2 star review in '' The Advertiser''. Ahmed's contributions to the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' were discontinued after he was exposed as a serial plagiarist. In September 2012, the ABC program " Media Watch asidentified six other articles by Tanveer Ahmed, including one written for the website Mamamia, which contain passages lifted from other sources,". Ahmed subsequently became a columnist for ''The Australian'' but was sacked in 2015 after further incidents of plagiarism came to light. In December 2016 Connor Court published his book ''Fragile Nation: Vulnerability, Resilience and Victimhood'', observations of Australian society based on his work as a psychiatrist. In June 2016, Ahmed became a contributor to the Australian version of politically conservative magazine ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
''. In 2017, Ahmed became a commentator on
The Rebel Media ''Rebel News'' (also known as ''The Rebel Media'' and ''The Rebel'') is a Canadian right-wing to far-right political and social commentary media website operated by Rebel News Network Ltd. It has been described as a "global platform" for the a ...
. In July 2017, Ahmed again faced accusations of plagiarism. Writing in the media commentary ''Weekly Beast'' section of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the G ...
'', Amanda Meade noted that Ahmed's article ''True Selves'' in ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'' had "striking similarities" with a December 2000 article by philosopher
Carl Elliott Carl Atwood Elliott (December 20, 1913 – January 9, 1999) was a U.S. representative from the U.S. state of Alabama. He was elected to eight consecutive terms, having served from 1949 to 1965. Background Elliott was born in rural Frankl ...
in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' titled ''A New Way To Be Mad''. Following complaints, ''The Spectator'' article was amended to include a reference to Elliott's article. Dr Ahmed re-established himself in the Liberal-conversative mainstream with regular contributions to the Australian Financial Review since 2017 (1) and appearances on Channel Nine's Sixty Minutes, ABC radio and Sky News. In August 2020, he published the book "In Defence of Shame", via Connor Court. The book was rated one of the best of 2020 by an ABC podcast (https://longdistancecall.com.au/episodes/episode145). Reviewer David Ferrell wrote in the ''
Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' that the book represented a "titular defence of shame identifies many of the psychical and social malaises of modernity"


Other roles

Ahmed was an appointee to the Advertising Standards Bureau board between 2006 and 2011Previous Advertising Standards Bureau board members
/ref> and supported the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women ( Resolution 54/134). The premise of the day is to raise awareness around the world that women are subjected t ...
proclaimed by the United Nations. He was chosen as one of one hundred future leaders of Australia under the age of 40 to attend the Future Forum in 2006. He was appointed to the Council for Multicultural Australia in August 2011. In February 2015, his article relating to domestic violence caused controversy which resulted in an examination of his role as a "White Ribbon Ambassador" for the Australian
White Ribbon Campaign The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) is a global movement of men and boys working to end male violence against women and girls. It was formed by a group of pro-feminist men in London, Ontario in November 1991 as a response to the École Polytechni ...
. Following criticism of his views expressed in the article, he was subsequently suspended as a 'White Ribbon Ambassador' and was sacked by
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewa ...
over a plagiarism allegation.


Political career

Ahmed ran unsuccessfully as a
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
candidate for
Marrickville Council Marrickville Council was a local government area located in the inner west region of Sydney, Australia. It was originally created on 1 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Marrickville". On 12 May 2016, Marrickville Council was forcibly merged ...
at the 2008 NSW Local Council elections. In 2019, Ahmed ran unsuccessfully for the Sydney seat of Reid after it was vacated by
Craig Laundy Craig Arthur Samuel Laundy (born 16 February 1971) is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who served as Member of Parliament for Reid from 2013 until his retirement in 2019. He served as Minister for Small and Family Business, the Wo ...
.


Personal life

He and his wife Alina have two daughters.Ahmed, p. 197.


References


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Tanveer 1975 births Living people Australian freelance journalists Australian psychiatrists Australian television personalities Bangladeshi emigrants to Australia Australian people of Bangladeshi descent People educated at Sydney Grammar School Quadrant (magazine) people Sydney Medical School alumni