Rageh Omaar (; ; ; born 19 July 1967) is a Somali-born British journalist and writer. He was a

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 ...

world affairs correspondent, where he made his name reporting from

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

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

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; , ) is a 24-hour English-language News broadcasting, news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is ...

, where he presented the nightly weekday documentary series ''Witness'' until January 2010. ''The Rageh Omaar Report'', first aired in 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 news television channel of ITV (TV network), ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. ITN, Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the netwo ...

, reporting on a broad range of news stories, as well as producing special in-depth reports from around the UK and further afield. A year after his appointment, Omaar was promoted to international affairs editor for ITV News. Since October 2015, alongside his duties as international affairs editor, he has been a deputy newscaster of '' ITV News at Ten''. Since September 2017, Omaar has occasionally presented the '' ITV Lunchtime News'' including the '' ITV News London Lunchtime Bulletin'' and the ''

ITV Evening News The ''ITV Evening News'' is the evening news programme produced by ITN on the British television network ITV. It airs Monday to Friday from 6:30pm usually until 7.30pm (since March 2022) though the finishing time of the bulletin can occasiona ...

''.

Early life

Omaar was born in 1967 in

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

Somali Republic The Somali Republic (; ; ) was formed by the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (formerly Italian Somaliland) and the State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland). A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad ...

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

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson is an agricultural machinery manufacturer, established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of Ireland. It was based in Coventry then moved to Beauvais in 2003 when ...

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

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

to Somalia. A

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

, his family is originally from

Hargeisa Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

. Omaar moved to the United Kingdom at the age of two. He has several siblings: his elder brother, Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar, was a former Foreign Minister of Somalia.

Education

Omaar was educated at the Dragon School,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. He then studied

Modern History The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500, ...

at New College,

Journalism

General

Omaar began his journalistic career as a trainee for '' The Voice'' newspaper. In 1991, he moved to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

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

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

. A year later, Omaar returned to London to work as a producer and broadcast journalist for the British Broadcasting Corporation (

). 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, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and

BBC

Omaar covered the Iraq invasion for the weekday

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 ...

bulletins and the international BBC News channel. 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 (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 ...

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 An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

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 (; 9 October 1939 – 30 December 2023) was an Australian journalist, writer, scholar and documentary filmmaker. From 1962, he was based mainly in Britain. He was also a visiting professor at Cornell University in New York. ...

'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 organisation, 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, Omaar has been a deputy newscaster of ITV News at Ten. Since September 2017, Omaar has occasionally presented the '' ITV Lunchtime News'', including the '' ITV News London Lunchtime Bulletin'', and the ''

''.

Awards and nominations

In 2003, Omaar was the recipient of an

Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy The Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy (EMMA) 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 withi ...

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

In 2000, Omaar married

Alexander technique The Alexander technique, named after its developer Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869–1955), is an alternative therapy based on the idea that poor posture causes a range of health problems. The American National Center for Complementary a ...

instructor Georgiana Rose "Nina" Montgomery-Cuninghame, the daughter of Sir John Montgomery-Cuninghame of Corsehill. The couple live in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, West London, and have two sons and a daughter. Omaar maintains close contact with his family in

, is an activist for the Somali community, and regularly attends its lectures and events. Omaar became noticeably unwell during a live broadcast of the ''ITV News at Ten'' on 26 April 2024. ITV subsequently confirmed that he was 'receiving medical care'. Following the incident, Omaar's public career was paused. He returned to ''News at Ten'' on Monday 27 January 2025.

Other works

Television

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

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, 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 channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

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

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

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

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, 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 channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

Dispatches documentary, on how immigration has affected Britain, using

Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell (16 June 19128 February 1998) was a British politician, scholar and writer. He served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South West for the Conservative Party (UK), Conserv ...

's 1968 '' Rivers of Blood'' speech as a starting point (7 to 21 April 2008) * ''The Vicar of Baghdad'', TV documentary for

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

(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 channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and d ...

. 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 service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

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 known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and Christian mysticism, mystical ...

. * ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

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

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

: 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 Limited is a Germany, German-owned English 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 ...

(2005), * ''Only Half of Me: Being a Muslim in Britain'', Viking (2006),

DVD

* ''The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors'' (region 2)

References

External links

* *
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
* {{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 21st-century Somaliland people Black British journalists English people of Somali descent Male non-fiction writers Montgomery-Cuninghame family