Zeinab Badawi ( ar, زينب بدوي; born October 1959) is a Sudanese-British television and radio journalist. She was the first presenter of the ''ITV Morning News'' (later known as '' ITV News at 5:30''), and co-presented ''

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' i ...

'' with Jon Snow from 1989 to 1998), before joining

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

. Badawi was the presenter of '' World News Today'' broadcast on both

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

and

BBC World News BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media an ...

, and '' Reporters'', a weekly showcase of reports from the BBC.

Early life

Badawi was born in October 1959 in Sudan and has lived in Britain since the age of two. Her great-grandfather, Sheikh Babiker Badri, fought against

Kitchener Kitchener may refer to: People * Earl Kitchener, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850–1916), British Field Marshal and 1st Earl Kitchener ** Henry Kitchener, 2nd Earl Kitchener (1846–1937) ...

's British forces at the

Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief ( sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of th ...

in 1898 and pioneered women's education in Sudan. Badawi's father was a newspaper editor in Sudan committed to social reform who, when the family moved to the UK, joined the BBC's Arabic Service."Honorary Fellows & Honorary Graduates , Zeinab Badawi"

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

, University of London. Badawi is bilingual and speaks both

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

and English fluently. Badawi was educated at Hornsey High School for Girls in North London, before studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it remained a women's college until 200 ...

. At Oxford, Badawi was a member of the Oxford University Broadcasting Society. In 1988 she moved back to London to pursue a full-time one-year MA degree at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

(SOAS),

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

, in Politics and Anthropology of the Middle East, graduating with distinction in 1989.

Journalism and awards

After graduating from Oxford University, Badawi was a researcherNational Portrait Gallery
Prime Minister's Office, 11 October 2004. and broadcast journalist for Yorkshire TV from 1982 to 1986. After a period at BBC Manchester she joined ''

'' in 1988.Zeinab Badawi
Badawi co-presented ''Channel 4 News'' from 1989 until 1998 when she joined the BBC. At the BBC Badawi worked as presenter and reporter for

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

live political programmes for five years. She also worked on

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

as a regular presenter of ''

The World Tonight ''The World Tonight'' is a British current affairs radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4, every weekday evening, which started out as an extension of the 10 pm news. It is produced by BBC News and features news, analysis and comment on domes ...

'' on Radio 4 and

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

's ''Newshour''. In 2005, Badawi became the new presenter of ''The World'' on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, the UK's first daily news bulletin devoted principally to international news. In May 2007 the programme was rebranded as ''World News Today'' and is also shown on the

channel. She is a regular presenter of the BBC interview programme '' HARDtalk''. In an exclusive interview in May 2009, Badawi interviewed Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir, the first serving head of state to be charged with war crimes. In November 2009, Badawi was named International TV Personality of the Year in the Annual Media Awards, the international media excellence awards organised by the Association for International Broadcasting. Since 2010, in addition to her presenting role on BBC World News, Badawi has presented on the

BBC News Channel BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...

and the

BBC News at Five The ''BBC News at Five'' is an hour-long daily news programme broadcast at 5:00pm on BBC News. The programme is fronted by Huw Edwards, the BBC's lead presenter for major breaking news, and Jane Hill on Friday. The show includes a detailed look ...

. Badawi was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

(SOAS) in July 2011. In May 2014 she was based in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, presenting coverage of the South African elections on BBC World News and BBC News Channel. For many years, Badawi has led an annual

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ...

discussion in connection with the Nobel festivities in Stockholm, Sweden. The programme is shown on

Swedish television Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...

. In 2017, Badawi hosted a nine-part series, ''The History of Africa'', based on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

's General History of Africa. The documentary series was broadcast in July and August 2017 on

. In August 2018, she was awarded the President's Medal of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

"for her contributions to international political journalism".

Personal life

Badawi is a mother of two sons and two daughters.

Public positions

Badawi has been an adviser to the Foreign Policy Centre and a Council Member of the

Overseas Development Institute ODI (formerly the 'Overseas Development Institute') is a global affairs think tank, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the ...

. She was Chair of the

Royal African Society The Royal African Society (RAS) of the United Kingdom was founded in 1901 to promote relations between the United Kingdom and countries in Africa. The RAS is a not-for-profit membership organisation based in London. In addition to producing its jo ...

(RAS) from 2014 to 2021. She is a trustee of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

(since 2004) and the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...

. In June 2011 her appointment to the advisory board of the

New College of the Humanities New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

was announced. Badawi is founder and chair of the Africa Medical Partnership Fund (AfriMed), a charity which aims to help local medical professionals in Africa. Badawi is on the Board of Trustees at the Royal Opera House. In October 2021 Badawi was appointed as the new President of

SOAS University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Badawi, Zeinab 1959 births Living people Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford Alumni of SOAS University of London BBC newsreaders and journalists BBC World News BBC World Service presenters British reporters and correspondents British television newsreaders and news presenters British television presenters British women television presenters Sudanese television presenters English people of Sudanese descent English television journalists English women journalists ITN newsreaders and journalists New College of the Humanities Sudanese emigrants to the United Kingdom Sudanese journalists Sudanese women journalists British women television journalists Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy) Sudanese radio presenters Sudanese women radio presenters Sudanese women television presenters