Tanveer Ahmed (born 1975) is a Bangladeshi born Australian

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

, journalist and television presenter.

Early life

Ahmed was born in Bangladesh in 1975. He and his parents moved to Australia in 1981, and settled in

Toongabbie Toongabbie is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. One of the oldest suburbs in Sydney, Toongabbie is located approximately 30 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater Western ...

, in the western suburbs of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He won a scholarship to

Sydney Grammar School Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known as Grammar) is an independent, non-denominational day school for boys, located in Sydney, Australia. Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "c ...

and went on to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where he studied medicine, graduating in 2000. He also had a stint writing for the university's ''

Honi Soit ''Honi Soit'' is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. Its name is an abbrev ...

'' magazine. He represented the

Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an independent professional association for Australian physician, doctors and medical school#Medical students, medical students. The association is not a government authority and does not regulate or ...

as the national representative for training doctors in 2006–07.

Media career

Besides being a doctor, Ahmed has also been a journalist for

SBS TV SBS TV (Seoul Broadcasting System Television) is a South Korean free-to-air television channel operated by Seoul Broadcasting System. The channel was launched on 9 December 1991. Unlike competing network MBC, SBS operates using a federalized ...

and appeared regularly on radio and television discussing issues pertaining to multiculturalism and mental health issues. He was a regular contributor to major newspapers, most commonly the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

''. In 2007, Ahmed appeared as the Bingo Commissioner in

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

's game show, '' National Bingo Night''. In 2011 his memoir, entitled ''The Exotic Rissole'', was published. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

Michael Wilding Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding (23 July 1912 – 8 July 1979) was an English stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle; he also made two films with Alfred Hitchcock, '' Under Capric ...

called it "a gentle and genial memoir of the migrant experience", while Tory Shepherd gave it a 2 1/2 star review in '' The Advertiser''. Ahmed's contributions to the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' were discontinued after he was exposed as a serial plagiarist. In September 2012, the ABC program " Media Watch asidentified six other articles by Tanveer Ahmed, including one written for the website Mamamia, which contain passages lifted from other sources". Ahmed subsequently became a columnist for ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' but was sacked in 2015 after further incidents of plagiarism came to light. In December 2016 Connor Court published his book ''Fragile Nation: Vulnerability, Resilience and Victimhood'', observations of Australian society based on his work as a psychiatrist. In June 2016, Ahmed became a contributor to the Australian version of politically conservative magazine ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

''. In 2017, Ahmed became a commentator on

The Rebel Media ''Rebel News'' (also known as ''The Rebel Media'' and ''The Rebel'') is a Canadian far-right political and social commentary media website operated by Rebel News Network Ltd. It has been described as a "global platform" for the anti-Muslim id ...

. In July 2017, Ahmed again faced accusations of plagiarism. Writing in the media commentary ''Weekly Beast'' section of ''

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 ...

'', Amanda Meade noted that Ahmed's article ''True Selves'' in ''

'' had "striking similarities" with a December 2000 article by philosopher

Carl Elliott Carl Atwood Elliott (December 20, 1913 – January 9, 1999) was a U.S. representative from the U.S. state of Alabama. He was elected to eight consecutive terms, having served from 1949 to 1965. Background Elliott was born in rural Frank ...

in ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' titled ''A New Way To Be Mad''. Following complaints, ''The Spectator'' article was amended to include a reference to Elliott's article. Ahmed re-established himself in the Liberal-conversative mainstream with regular contributions to the ''

Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

'' since 2017 and appearances on Channel Nine's ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'', ABC radio and Sky News. In August 2020, he published the book ''In Defence of Shame'', via Connor Court. The book was rated one of the best of 2020 by an ABC podcast. Reviewer David Ferrell wrote in the ''

Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'' that the book represented a "titular defence of shame identifies many of the psychical and social malaises of modernity".

Other roles

Ahmed was an appointee to the Advertising Standards Bureau board between 2006 and 2011Previous Advertising Standards Bureau board members
/ref> and supported the

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women ( Resolution 54/134). The premise of the day is to raise awareness around the world that women are subjected t ...

proclaimed by the United Nations. He was chosen as one of one hundred future leaders of Australia under the age of 40 to attend the Future Forum in 2006. He was appointed to the Council for Multicultural Australia in August 2011. In February 2015, his article relating to domestic violence caused controversy which resulted in an examination of his role as a "White Ribbon Ambassador" for the Australian

White Ribbon Campaign The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) is a global movement of men and boys working to end male violence against women and girls. It was established in November 1991 by a group of men in Toronto, Ontario, as a response to the École Polytechnique m ...

. Following criticism of his views expressed in the article, he was subsequently suspended as a White Ribbon Ambassador and was sacked by ''The Australian'' over a plagiarism allegation. During the 2024 GPS Gold Cup

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

, Ahmed represented Sydney Grammar School on the winning team, arguing for the proposition that "sport is the heart and soul of a

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

school". The opposing team included

Tom Gleeson Thomas Francis Gleeson (born 2 June 1974) is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter. Gleeson currently hosts '' Hard Quiz'' and '' Taskmaster Australia'' and previously co-hosted ''The Weekly with Charlie Picker ...

and Rusty Young.

Political career

Ahmed ran unsuccessfully as a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate for

Marrickville Council Marrickville Council was a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the Inner West region of Sydney, Australia. It was originally created on 1 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Marrickville". On 12 May 2016, Marrickvi ...

at the 2008 NSW local council elections. In 2019, Ahmed ran unsuccessfully for the Sydney seat of Reid after it was vacated by

Craig Laundy Craig Arthur Samuel Laundy (born 16 February 1971) is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who served as Member of Parliament for Reid from 2013 until his retirement in 2019. He served as Minister for Small and Family Business, the Wor ...

Personal life

Ahmed has two daughters. He is divorced and has a pet dog.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Tanveer 1975 births Living people Australian freelance journalists Australian psychiatrists Australian television personalities Bangladeshi emigrants to Australia Australian people of Bangladeshi descent People educated at Sydney Grammar School Quadrant (magazine) people Sydney Medical School alumni Medical doctors from Sydney Rebel News people