Alexander McLean (born 1985) is a British activist, humanitarian, and lawyer. He is the founder of Justice Defenders (formerly African Prisons Project, or APP), which is based in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

and seeks to improve the lives of people imprisoned in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Life and work

McLean was born in 1985 and grew up in the "southern outskirts of London." His father is Jamaican and worked as a retired tool maker while his mother was from Surrey and worked for United Airways. He has an older brother and sister. McLean attended

Kingston Grammar School Kingston Grammar School is an independent co-educational day school in Kingston upon Thames, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter in 1561 but can trace its roots back to at least the 13th century.

, having been awarded a scholarship. At a young age, he became fascinated with social issues and the criminal justice system. In his teens, he worked for a quadriplegic who suffered from multiple sclerosis and volunteered at a hospice. After high school, McLean visited Uganda to volunteer as a hospice worker at the Mulago hospital in Kampala. There, he was motivated to start Justice Defenders in 2007 after observing that prison inmates were not given proper medical care and seeing the conditions at Luzira Upper Prison. After coming back to the United Kingdom, McLean fund-raised to provide good health facilities and educate inmates in Ugandan prisons about the law, beginning the organization. McLean attended the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

, graduating in 2007. He was the first in his family to earn a university degree. After graduation, he moved to

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, where he created a team of local and international staff and volunteers with the goal of professionalizing the African Prisons Project and increasing its impact. McLean studied at the

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 degree ...

by correspondence, receiving a Master of Laws in 2009 and being called to the bar of England and Wales in 2010.

Honors and awards

* UK Charity Volunteer of the Year 2006 * UK Young Philanthropist of the Year 2007 * Overall Winner, Beacon Prize for Philanthropy 2007 * University of Nottingham Alumni of the Year 2007 * UK Graduate of the Year 2007 * Winner, Vodafone World of Difference Prize 2008 * Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2008) * Ashoka Fellow * Time Top 30 Under 30 *Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize 2020 *Qatar Foundation WISE Award 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Alexander Living people 1985 births 21st-century British lawyers British activists British humanitarians People associated with the University of Nottingham Ashoka Fellows People associated with the University of London Alumni of the University of Nottingham Alumni of the University of London People educated at Kingston Grammar School