Hugh O'Shaughnessy (21 January 1935 – 1 March 2022) was an English journalist and writer.

Biography

O'Shaughnessy was born in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east ...

of Irish parents. His father, Charles, was a porter at the Home Office, and his mother, Mary (nee Donovan), was an administrative assistant. He was educated at the Catholic St Benedict’s school in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was his ...

and

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms ...

where he received a BA in Modern Languages. For over 40 years he wrote for major newspapers including ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' and most frequently ''

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 ...

''; and he made many reports for

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 broadc ...

. O'Shaughnessy published a number of books and articles focusing on Latin American politics, making many trips to Central and South America to study social and political issues. He was a friend of Chilean president

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

. He was also the author of commentaries on the politics of Catholicism. He was founder of the Latin America Bureau. O'Shaughnessy won several awards, including two

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by '' The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named ...

, the 1986

Maria Moors Cabot prize The Maria Moors Cabot Prizes are the oldest international awards in the field of journalism. They are presented each fall by the Trustees of Columbia University to journalists in the Western hemisphere who are viewed as having made a significant co ...

for journalistic contributions to inter-American understanding and the Wilberforce Medallion from the city of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

. He was recognised by the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Graduate School of Journalism in the United States. He lived in London. He married Georgina Alliston (1937–2011, daughter of architects

Jane Drew Dame Jane Drew , (24 March 1911 – 27 July 1996) was an English modernist architect and town planner. She qualified at the Architectural Association School in London, and prior to World War II became one of the leading exponents of the Modern ...

and James Alliston) in 1961, and they had four children: Frances, Thomas, Matthew and Luke. O'Shaughnessy died on 1 March 2022, at the age of 87.

Publications

* ''Engagement to Europe'', Open Library, Liberal Publications Dept (1965) OL20273667M * ''What Future for the Amerindians of South America?'', Minority Rights Group report (1973) * ''Oil in Latin America'', Financial Times (1976) * ''Nicaragua: dictatorship and revolution'', Latin America Bureau (1979) (with Jan Karmali and Andrew Pollak) * ''Relations with Central American and Caribbean countries'', Enstone, Oxon: Ditchley Foundation (1981) * ''Towards a Democratic Central America'', Fabian Society (1984) * ''Grenada: revolution, invasion and aftermath'', Sphere Books (1984) also Hamish Hamilton (1984) * ''Grenada: An Eyewitness Account of the US Invasion and the Caribbean History that Provoked It'', Dodd Mead (1985) * ''Latin Americans'', BBC Books (1988) * ''Around the Spanish Main: Travels in the Caribbean and the Guianas'', Ebury Press (1991) * ''East Timor: Getting Away with Murder?'', London, British Coalition for East Timor (1994) * ''Brazilian Energy: Privatisation and the Market'', London, Financial Times Energy Publishing (c1997) * ''Mexican Energy: A Market in Transition'', London, Financial Times Energy Publishing (c1998) * ''Pinochet: The Politics of Torture'', Latin America Bureau (1999) also NYU Press (2000) * ''Chemical warfare in Colombia: The Costs of Coca Fumigation'' Latin America Bureau (2005) (with Sue Branford) * ''Taking on the Rich: The Art of Political Murder'', New Statesman (2008) (with F. Goldman) * ''The Priest of Paraguay: Fernando Lugo and the Making of a Nation'',

Zed Books Zed Books is an independent non-fiction publishing company based in London, UK. It was founded in 1977 under the name Zed Press by Roger van Zwanenberg. Zed publishes books for an international audience of both general and academic readers, co ...

(2009) (with Edgar Venerando Ruiz Díaz)

References

External links

The Independent, 5 October 2014
Hugh O'Shaughnessy on Jean-Claude Duvalier, former President of Haiti *
Hugh O'Shaughnessy interviewed (30 August 2009) by George Galloway
on ''The Priest of Paraguay''
The Guardian 5 February 2000
Case for the prosecution. Review by Nicholas Lezard on ''Pinochet: The Politics of Torture''. "Nicholas Lezard is minded to make Hugh O'Shaughnessy's book on the damning evidence against Augusto Pinochet required reading"
Exposé Reveals Little
Review by Hugh O'Shaughnessy of ''The Torture Report: What the Documents Say About America's Post-9/11 Torture Program'' by Larry Siems
Obituary

, 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshaughnessy, Hugh 1935 births 2022 deaths Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford English journalists English writers Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners English people of Irish descent