Rageh Omaar (; so, Raage Oomaar; ar, راجح أومار; born 19 July 1967) is a

Somali Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somali ...

-born British journalist and writer. He was a BBC world affairs correspondent, where he made his name reporting from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In September 2006, he moved to a new post at

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة‎, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is o ...

, where he presented the nightly weekday documentary series ''Witness'' until January 2010. ''The Rageh Omaar Report'', first aired February 2010, is a one-hour, monthly investigative documentary in which he reports on international current affairs stories. From January 2013, he became a special correspondent and presenter for

ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since con ...

, reporting on a broad range of news stories, as well as producing special in-depth reports from all around the UK and further afield. A year after his appointment, Omaar was promoted to International Affairs Editor for

. Since October 2015, alongside his duties as International Affairs Editor, he has been a Deputy Newscaster of

ITV News at Ten ''ITV News at Ten'' (or more commonly ''News at Ten'') is the flagship evening news programme on British television network ITV, produced by ITN and founded by news editor Geoffrey Cox in July 1967. The bulletin was the first permanent 30-mi ...

. Since September 2017 Omaar has occasionally presented the

ITV Lunchtime News The ''ITV Lunchtime News'' is the afternoon news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 1:30pm, covering British national and international news stories and is presented by Nina Hossain. ...

including the '' ITV News London Lunchtime Bulletin'' and the ITV Evening News.

Early life

Omaar was born in 1967 in Mogadishu to Abdullahi and Sahra Omaar. His father was an accountant who became a businessman, a representative of

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in ...

tractors, founder of the country's first independent newspaper, and was responsible for introducing

Coca Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

to Somalia. A

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, his family is originally from

Hargeisa Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...

. Omaar belongs to a prominent family that hails from the Sa'ad Musa sub-division of the Habr Awal Isaaq clan. Omaar moved to the United Kingdom at the age of two. He has several siblings: his elder brother,

Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar ( so, Maxamed Cabdullahi Omaar, ar, محمد عبدالله أومار) is a Somali politician and diplomat. He twice served as the Foreign Minister of Somalia. Biography He is the elder son of businessman Abdullahi Oma ...

, was a former Foreign Minister of Somalia.

Education

Omaar was educated at the

Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...

. He then studied

Modern History The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is appli ...

at New College,

Journalism

General

Omaar began his journalistic career as a trainee for ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' newspaper. In 1991, he moved to

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 ...

where he freelanced as a foreign correspondent, working mainly for the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...

. A year later, Omaar returned to London to work as a producer and broadcast journalist for the BBC. He moved to South Africa after having been appointed the BBC's Africa correspondent. Omaar's wife and children were based there through 2004, and his regular commuting made domestic life a challenge. His career highlights include reporting live on the conflicts in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

and

BBC

Omaar covered the Iraq invasion for the weekday BBC news bulletins and BBC News. Many of his broadcasts were syndicated across the United States, where he became known as the ''Scud Stud''. Omaar has written a book about his time as the BBC's Iraq correspondent called ''Revolution Day''. The book deals with the effects of the

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

regime, UN sanctions, and of the war on Iraqi civilians. Explaining why he eventually left the BBC, Omaar suggested that he wanted to operate independently and to take on assignments for people he wished to collaborate with. He also suggested that the BBC working environment was somewhat exclusivist on a class basis, and that he was guilty of this as well to some degree as a consequence of his public school upbringing. Additionally, Omaar has expressed regret about the way in which he covered the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

during his time as a BBC correspondent. He suggested that he and his colleagues did pieces on Saddam Hussein, his regime and weapons inspectors, giving little coverage to the Iraqi people. Interviewed in

John Pilger John Richard Pilger (; born 9 October 1939) is an Australian journalist, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker. He has been mainly based in Britain since 1962. He was also once visiting professor at Cornell University in New York. Pilger ...

's documentary ''

The War You Don't See ''The War You Don't See'' is a 2010 British documentary film written, produced and directed by John Pilger with Alan Lowery, which challenges the media for the role they played in the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel/ Palestine conflicts. The film ...

'' (2010), Omaar also lamented that "one didn't press the most uncomfortable buttons hard enough" and called the coverage "a giant echo chamber".

Al Jazeera

In September 2006, Omaar joined

. He served as a Middle Eastern correspondent for its London Division. During his time with the news organization, Omaar presented the nightly weekday documentary series ''Witness''. He also hosted the monthly ''The Rageh Omaar Report'', his own investigative documentaries.

ITV News

In January 2013, it was announced that Omaar would be joining

as a special correspondent. He was promoted the following year to ITV News' International Affairs Editor. Since October 2015, alongside his duties as International Affairs Editor, Rageh has been a Deputy Newscaster of

. Since September 2017 Omaar has occasionally presented the

, including the ITV News London Lunchtime Bulletin, and the ITV Evening News.

Awards and nominations

In 2003, Omaar was the recipient of an

Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy EMMA (Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy) is a British organization that raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns and social networking. The EMMA Awards was founded in 1997 by Bobby Syed and "seeks to promote diversity within th ...

award for the best TV journalist. In 2008, he was also presented the Arab Media Watch Award for excellence in journalism. In January 2014 and 2015, Omaar was nominated for the Services to Media award at the

British Muslim Awards The British Muslim Awards are an annual award ceremony that honours the success and achievements of British Muslim individuals, groups and businesses. It was established in 2013. Overview The British Muslim Awards was founded by Oceanic Consult ...

Personal life

Omaar is married to Georgiana Rose "Nina" Montgomery-Cuninghame, the daughter of Sir John Montgomery-Cuninghame of Corsehill. The couple live in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and F ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

, with their three children. He maintains close contact with his family in

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

, is an activist for the Somali community, and regularly attends its lectures and events.

Other works

Television

* ''An Islamic History of Europe'', TV documentary for

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

: August 2005 * ''The Miracles of Jesus'', TV documentary for

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

: beginning on 6 August 2006 * ''The Dead Sea Scrolls''. TV documentary

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

(Feb 2007) * ''Rageh Inside Iran'', TV documentary for

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

(Feb 2007) * ''Islam in America'', TV documentary for Al Jazeera English : October 2008 * ''Immigration: The Inconvenient Truth'', a three part

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

Dispatches documentary, on how immigration has affected Britain, using

Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...

's 1968 ''

Rivers of Blood The "Rivers of Blood" speech was made by British Member of Parliament (MP) Enoch Powell on 20 April 1968, to a meeting of the Conservative Political Centre in Birmingham, United Kingdom. His speech strongly criticised mass immigration, espe ...

'' speech as a starting point (7 to 21 April 2008) * ''The Vicar of Baghdad'', TV documentary

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

(2008) * ''Pakistan's War''. TV documentary for

(Mid-Winter Production 2008/09) * ''Iran Season'', TV documentary for

: January 2009 * '' Race and Intelligence: Science's last taboo''. TV documentary for Channel 4 : October 2009. * '' The Life of Muhammad''. TV documentary for

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

. This is a three-part series, which had its first showing on 11 July 2011 on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. The final edition of the series was on 25 July, on

9 -10 pm. People on the programme included

Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and ...

. * ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined i ...

- Ivory Wars: Out of Africa'', TV current affairs documentary

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

: 12 April 2012 * '' The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors'', BBC2, September 2013

Books

* ''Revolution Day: The Real Story of the Battle for Iraq'',

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Guardian Interview

BBC News: Our man in Baghdad

BBC News: BBC's Rageh Omaar signs book deal

BBC News: Reporter Rageh Omaar takes new role

Rageh Omaar to explore Jesus miracles

"The Stirrer" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Omaar, Rageh 1967 births Living people Al Jazeera people Alumni of New College, Oxford BBC newsreaders and journalists British male writers British non-fiction writers British reporters and correspondents British Sunni Muslims British television journalists Black British television personalities Ethnic Somali people ITN newsreaders and journalists People educated at Cheltenham College People educated at The Dragon School People from Mogadishu Somalian emigrants to the United Kingdom Somalian Muslims British writers Somalian writers Somaliland people Black British journalists English people of Somali descent Male non-fiction writers Black British writers