Simon Tisdall (born 1953) is a columnist for ''

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 Gu ...

'' newspaper and an assistant editor of the publication.

Early life

Tisdall was born in Manchester and educated at

Holland Park School Holland Park School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Holland Park, London, England. In 2013, it has attained academy status. Opened in 1958, the school became the flagship for comprehensive education, and at one time had ove ...

in Kensington, one of the first comprehensives. From 1971 to 1974, he studied history, politics and philosophy at Downing College, Cambridge.

Career

He joined ''The Guardian'' in 1979. From 1989–94, he was the newspaper's US Editor and White House correspondent. From 1994–98, he was Foreign Editor. During 1996–98, he was the Foreign Editor of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''.

Political positions

Tisdall has criticised Britain's close ties with

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and British involvement in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. In 2018, he wrote that "the UK-Saudi alliance is pernicious, encouraging the worst in both sides, and deeply corrosive of 'our values'. May’s main focus is not on the unnumbered Yemeni civilians who continue to die as a result of the Saudi-led, British-backed bombing campaign." Tisdall commends

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

's "brave, open-door migration policy". Tisdall is a proponent of regime change as a political and military tool of Western bloc countries to enforce a change of government or leadership in an opposing or designated enemy country. Tisdall wrote that

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

's Prime Minister

Abiy Ahmed Abiy Ahmed Ali ( om, Abiyi Ahmed Alii; am, አብይ አሕመድ ዐሊ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who has been the 4th prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia since 2 April 2018. He won the 2019 ...

"should hand back his Nobel Peace Prize over his actions in the breakaway region" of Tigray. In 2022, following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, Tisdall called for reforms to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

which included an increase in the number of members of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

and an end to the permanent members' right of veto.

Personal life

He married Alison Kane in 1984 in

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

. They live a few miles west of

Bradford on Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

References

External links

''Guardian'' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tisdall, Simon 1953 births Living people Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge English male journalists People from Bradford-on-Avon The Guardian journalists The Observer people People educated at Holland Park School