Jeremy Francis John Bowen (born 6 February 1960) is a Welsh journalist and television presenter. Bowen was the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

correspondent based in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

between 1995 and 2000 and the BBC Middle East editor from 2005 to 2022, before being appointed the International Editor of

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 ...

in August 2022.

Background

Jeremy Francis John Bowen was born on 6 February 1960 in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. He was educated at De La Salle School, Rumney, Cardiff High School,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

( BA

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

) and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. His father Gareth reported on the 1966 Aberfan coal slurry disaster for the BBC, and became editor of news at BBC Radio Wales.''

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 publis ...

'', 11 December 2006
''Jeremy Bowen: The man in the middle''
.

Career

Bowen joined the

in 1984 and has been a

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

for much of his career, starting with

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

in 1989. He has reported from more than 70 countries, predominantly in the

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. During the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

he was an eyewitness to the bodies being removed from the Al Amiriyan air raid shelter in Baghdad, where hundreds of civilians had been killed. Bowen reported that the casualties were women, children and older men. There were no military uniforms.Report aired on ''BBC 1'', 14 February 1991

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

and the UK Ministry of Defence affirmed that it was a command centre. During the disinformation campaign, the '' Daily Star'' compared Bowen to Lord Haw Haw who had broadcast from Berlin during the Second World War. Bowen received a substantial sum for libel as a result. He reported from Bosnia-Herzegovina during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

there, and from

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

during the 1999 conflict, during which he was robbed at gunpoint by bandits.''BBC Press Office''
Jeremy Bowen
last updated September 2008 Bowen has been under fire on assignment a number of times. In what he was later to describe as the pivotal moment of his life, his colleague and friend Abed Takkoush was killed on 23 May 2000 in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. This took place while Bowen was covering the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

' (IDF) pullout from

: Bowen's car came under tank fire from the IDF and his " fixer" and driver was killed. Bowen and his cameraman escaped, but Bowen suffered post traumatic stress disorder and retreated from the frontline, moving to work in the studio as a presenter, hosting the daily news and entertainment

morning show Breakfast television (Europe and Australia) or morning show (Canada and the United States) is a type of news broadcasting, news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts Live television, live in the morning (typically broadcast pro ...

Breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night. Various "typical" or "traditional" breakfast menus exist, with food choices varying by regi ...

'' with Sophie Raworth between 2000 and 2002. He was also a guest host on the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...

'' Have I Got News for You'', and presented the

's 2001 three-part series '' Son of God'', an investigation into the life of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. In 2002 he presented ''

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

'', a similar documentary that chronicled the life of

. Bowen declined the chance to cover the 2003 invasion of Iraq from

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Nonetheless, he returned to the field in March 2003 as a special correspondent, during which time he covered the death of Pope John Paul II. He became the BBC's first Middle East Editor when the position was created in June 2005 after the 2004 Balen Report on the BBC's coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to provide a broader perspective on wider Middle East issues and to add context to the reporting of events on the ground. In 2005, he published the book ''Six Days: How the 1967 War Shaped the Middle East''. On 11 May 2008, Bowen and his camera operator again came under fire in

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

. Nobody was injured and the incident was caught on camera. In April 2009, the Editorial Standards Committee of the BBC Trust published a report on three complaints, including one by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, brought against two news items involving Bowen. The complaints included 24 allegations of breaching BBC guidelines on accuracy and impartiality, of which three were fully or partially upheld. Antony Lerman, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 16 April 2009
What did Jeremy Bowen do wrong?
/ref> The BBC Trust's censure was based on articles about Har Homa in the 1960s, how the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

affected the Middle East and an article on the aftermath of that war.Maggie Brown, ''

'', 10 June 2010,
Jeremy Bowen attacks BBC Trust for Gaza ruling
' Although there was no finding of anti-Israel bias against Bowen, the BBC Trust said that he should have used clearer language and been more precise in some aspects of the piece. The BBC Trust accepted that for a claim that was found to be lacking in accuracy that Bowen had been provided with the information by an authoritative source. A website article was amended and Bowen did not face any disciplinary measures.''

'', 16 April 2009
Bowen 'breached rules on impartiality'
/ref> Bowen voiced opposition to the censure, calling it a result of a "campaign group" whom he called "the enemies of impartiality". In February 2011, Bowen became the first British journalist to interview

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

since the start of the

2011 Libyan civil war The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...

against him and the government. As the conflict progressed at least two of Bowen's notebooks were either lost or stolen. One of these notebooks was subsequently found in the remains of a military convoy, which the rebel force that attacked it said contained Gaddafi's son, Khamis. The notebook contained both Bowen's words and a number of notes in Arabic detailing military manoeuvres and a list of persons to be detained. On 5 July 2013, Bowen was reporting for the BBC on the protests in Egypt regarding the former President Morsi when he was shot in the head with shotgun pellets. He escaped without major injury, and was taken away by his colleagues and bandaged up. He was one of the few journalists inside Syria reporting on the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. In February 2015, he spoke with President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

about the continuing Syrian conflict, during an exclusive BBC interview. Since March 2022, Bowen has also reported from Ukraine during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. In October 2023, the BBC reported on the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, including a report on an explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

. Bowen was the editor responsible for overseeing this coverage, and has been criticised for the BBC's reporting on the incident for saying that an Israeli airstrike "flattened" the hospital. The cause of the explosion remains contested. In the days following the incident, Western intelligence agencies stated that the fire was most likely the result of a misfired rocket by Palestinian Islamic Jihad in a rocket attack on Israeli civilians. However, in its investigation on 20 October 2023, Forensic Architecture concluded that the blast was the result of a munition fired from the direction of Israel. The BBC apologized for its reporting, saying, "We accept that even in this fast-moving situation it was wrong to speculate in this way about the possible causes and we apologise for this, although ur correspondentdid not at any point report that it was an Israeli strike."

Personal life

Bowen lives in

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, with his partner Julia Williams, also a BBC journalist. They have a son and a daughter. He is a supporter of Cardiff City. On 1 April 2019 Bowen announced that he had undergone treatment to remove a tumour in his bowel.

Awards

* New York Television Festival 1995 – Best News Correspondent * 1993 Monte Carlo International TV Festival Silver Nymph for Bosnia war coverage * RTS Best Breaking News Report 1996 – Best Breaking News report, for his coverage of the assassination of Israel's President

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

* Sony Gold award for News Story of the Year on the arrest of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

* Part of the BBC teams that won a BAFTA for their

coverage. * International Emmy 2006 for ''BBC News'', for its coverage, led by Bowen, of the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...

* 2009 Prix Bayeux Calvados for war reporting (Gaza) * 2010 Charles Wheeler Award for achievements in broadcast journalism * 2012 Peace Through Media Award at the 8th annual International Media Awards in London. * 2012 Prix Bayeux Calvados for war reporting (Syria) * 2013 Peabody Award for reporting Syria's war * 2013 News and Documentary Emmy for Syria reporting * 2013 RTS Specialist Journalist of the Year * 2014 RTS Television Journalist of the Year * 2014 BAFTA Cymru Siân Phillips award * 2015 James Cameron Memorial Award * 2015 Frontline Club Award for Yemen reporting * 2016 RTS Interview of the Year for an interview with President Assad of Syria * 2016 Prix Bayeux Calvados for war reporting * Fellow University College London 2005 * Honorary Fellow:

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

, 2009; University of South Wales, 2013; Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2015; Aberystwyth University, 2015. * Honorary Doctor of Social Sciences Nottingham Trent University, 2014

References

Bibliography

* Jeremy Bowen, ''Six Days - How the 1967 War Shaped the Middle East'' (2003). (pbk). History. * Jeremy Bowen, ''War Stories'' (2006). (hbk); (pbk). Autobiography. * Jeremy Bowen, ''The Arab Uprisings - The People Want the Fall of the Regime'' (2012). (hbk); (pbk) * Jeremy Bowen, ''The Making of the Modern Middle East: A Personal History'' (2022).

External links

*
Photograph.

.
''Newswatch'': Jeremy Bowen.

.
''Bowen Middle East role 'enhanced.

. * Hadar Sela
"Where did Jeremy Bowen learn the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict?"
BBC Watch, 27 December 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Jeremy 1960 births Living people Alumni of University College London BBC newsreaders and journalists Journalists from Cardiff New Statesman people Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni People associated with the History Department, University College London Welsh television journalists Welsh war correspondents