David Ignatius

David Ignatius earned the prestigious Edward Weintal Prize for diplomatic reporting in 1985, a culmination of a decade of impactful journalism at The Wall Street Journal. After receiving a diploma in economics from King’s College, Cambridge and graduating magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1973 with a focus on political theory, Ignatius began his professional career as an editor at The Washington Monthly. He then joined The Wall Street Journal, initially covering the steel industry in Pittsburgh before reporting on the Justice Department, the CIA, and the Senate from Washington. From 1980 to 1983, he served as the Journal’s Middle East correspondent, providing crucial coverage of conflicts in Lebanon and Iraq.

Parallel to his journalism career, Ignatius is also an accomplished novelist, having authored eleven espionage thrillers. His work, ‘Body of Lies,’ was notably adapted into a major motion picture in 2008, starring Academy Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Ignatius’s commitment to incisive reporting continued, earning him the prestigious George Polk Award in 2018 for his courageous coverage of the Jamal Khashoggi murder. He continues to provide timely and impactful analysis through his syndicated column for The Washington Post, delivering his expertise on global dynamics to a worldwide audience.