# Edward Mortimer

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British journalist (1943–2021)

For the former judge and politician in Nova Scotia, see [Edward Mortimer (businessman)](/source/Edward_Mortimer_(businessman)).

Edward Mortimer CMG Born (1943-12-22)22 December 1943 Burford, Oxfordshire, England Died 18 June 2021(2021-06-18) (aged 77) Oxford, England Education Balliol College, Oxford All Souls College, Oxford Occupations Civil servant journalist academic Spouse Elizabeth Zanetti ​ (m. 1968)​ Children 4

**Edward Mortimer** [CMG](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George) (22 December 1943 – 18 June 2021)[1] was a UN civil servant, journalist, author and academic. He was Distinguished Fellow of [All Souls College](/source/All_Souls_College), [Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford), from 2013.[2] From 2001 to 2006, he was the Director of Communications in the Executive Office of the [United Nations](/source/United_Nations) [Secretary-General](/source/Secretary-General) [Kofi Annan](/source/Kofi_Annan) and was the chief speechwriter from 1998 to 2006.[3] He was the chair of the [Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice](/source/Sri_Lanka_Campaign_for_Peace_and_Justice)[4] from 2010 to 2015 and one of the key people integral to the creation of the Campaign.[5][6]

Mortimer was appointed [Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George) (CMG) in the 2010 New Year Honours.[7]

## Early life and education

Edward Mortimer was born on 22 December 1943 in [Burford](/source/Burford), [Oxfordshire](/source/Oxfordshire), the son of [Robert Mortimer](/source/Robert_Mortimer_(bishop)), Regius Professor of Moral Theology at Christ Church, Oxford and later [Bishop of Exeter](/source/Bishop_of_Exeter) and his wife Mary.[8][9] Mortimer was a scholar at [Eton College](/source/Eton_College) and studied history at [Balliol College, Oxford](/source/Balliol_College%2C_Oxford), from 1962 to 1965, graduating with a [congratulatory first](/source/British_undergraduate_degree_classification#Variations_in_classifications), and was a [Prize Fellow](/source/All_Souls_College%2C_Oxford#Examination_fellowships) at All Souls College, Oxford, from 1965 to 1972.[3][2] In 1963, during his time at Balliol, he was part of the team that reached the final of the first series of *[University Challenge](/source/University_Challenge)*, losing to Leicester University.[10]

## Career

Before university Mortimer went to Senegal to do Voluntary Service Overseas, and taught English for a short period in a lycée in St Louis. After leaving Oxford he went to Paris to do research for a [PhD](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy), but set it aside in 1967 when he was hired as a reporter in The Times Paris office. He returned to Oxford in 1970 to write a book on the [French Communist Party](/source/French_Communist_Party). During his time in Paris he documented the student riots and the last days of [Charles de Gaulle's](/source/Charles_de_Gaulle) presidency. Left-leaning in his politics, he later reflected that "For me, May 1968 was certainly the high point of the Sixties."[11] He went on to become a columnist and [leader writer](/source/List_of_leader_writers) for *The Times* and foreign affairs editor for the *[Financial Times](/source/Financial_Times)*.[3][2] Between 2007 and 2012 he was Senior Vice President of the [Salzburg Global Seminar](/source/Salzburg_Global_Seminar) and was a member of the Advisory Council of [Independent Diplomat](/source/Independent_Diplomat).

## Personal life

Mortimer married painter and sculptor Elizabeth Zanetti in [Exeter](/source/Exeter) in 1968; together they had four children.[1][2][11] He died of prostate cancer at [Churchill Hospital](/source/Churchill_Hospital) in [Oxford](/source/Oxford) on 18 June 2021, aged 77.[1][8][12]

## Selected bibliography

1. *France and the Africans, 1944-60: A Political History* Faber & Faber, 1969.

1. *Faith and Power, the politics of Islam* Random House, New York, 1982.

1. *Roosevelt's Children: Tomorrow's World Leaders and Their World* Hamish Hamilton Ltd, 1987.

1. *The World That FDR Built: Vision and Reality* Scribner, 1989.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_1-2) Peel, Quentin (20 June 2021). ["Edward Mortimer, academic, journalist and UN official, 1943-2021"](https://www.ft.com/content/6c30cdd2-0e53-4901-bcc4-4d3dff8a96fe). *[Financial Times](/source/Financial_Times)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210620172301/https://www.ft.com/content/6c30cdd2-0e53-4901-bcc4-4d3dff8a96fe) from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:2_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:2_2-3) ["Mortimer, Edward, (born 22 Dec. 1943), freelance writer and consultant; Distinguished Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford, since 2013"](https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-250694). *WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO*. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u250694](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fww%2F9780199540884.013.u250694). Retrieved 20 June 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:1_3-2) ["Edward Mortimer | All Souls College"](https://www.asc.ox.ac.uk/person/edward-mortimer). *www.asc.ox.ac.uk*. Retrieved 20 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["UNA-UK mourns the death of Edward Mortimer"](https://una.org.uk/news/una-uk-mourns-death-edward-mortimer). United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK). 23 June 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["In memory of Edward Mortimer (1943-2021)"](https://www.srilankacampaign.org/in-memory-of-edward-mortimer-1943-2021/?fbclid=IwAR1gzWuI2sah_2zgjxtQkKt-Se3Z4i8gasL9aTRda1z5HV6fgIioOzhRNfw). [Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice](/source/Sri_Lanka_Campaign_for_Peace_and_Justice). 7 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Jason Burke (27 March 2014). ["UN takes step towards Sri Lanka war crimes inquiry"](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/27/un-step-sri-lanka-war-crimes-inquiry). [The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian). Retrieved 7 July 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["No. 59282"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/59282/supplement/3). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)* (Supplement). 31 December 2009. p. 3.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ODNB_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ODNB_8-1) McKane, Christopher (2025). "Mortimer, Edward (1943–2021), journalist and international civil servant". *[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography#Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography)* (online ed.). Oxford University Press. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382763](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fodnb%2F9780198614128.013.90000382763). (Subscription, [Wikipedia Library](https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/partners/88/) access or [UK public library membership](https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public) required.)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Edward Mortimer obituary"](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/08/edward-mortimer-obituary). *The Guardian*. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["University Challenge, 1962-3"](https://blanchflower.org/uc/uc63.html).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:3_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:3_11-1) ["Edward Mortimer obituary"](https://www.thetimes.com/article/edward-mortimer-obituary-80v3q3ffw). *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 23 June 2021. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0140-0460](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0140-0460). Retrieved 23 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["'His words set a standard and will long endure': UN mourns passing of Edward Mortimer"](https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/06/1094442). *UN News*. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.

## External links

- [Biography at UNA-UK](https://web.archive.org/web/20070610192748/http://www.una-uk.org/28%20Nov_Mortimer%20Bio.pdf)

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