Born in Bollington, England, Terence Hardy “Terry” Waite is viewed as an esteemed author and humanitarian in his country. Waite is perhaps most known for his heroic feats of freeing the hostages that were taken captive in Lebanon (1987), Libya (1985) and in Iran (1980). The multiple captives in Iran were Anglican priest Iraj Mottahedeh, diocesan officer Dimitri Bellos, Anglican priest in Kerman Nosrat Sharifian, church member Fazeli, Jean Waddell who was Hassan Dehqani-Tafti’s secretary, Canon John Coleman and his wife. Terry was able to negotiate the release of the British hostages in Libya, which included Michael Berdinner, Alan Russell, Malcolm Anderson and Robin Plummer.

Terry went into the Lebanon situation under an agreement with the kidnappers that the hostages (British journalist John McCarthy, Lawrence Jenco and David Jacobsen) would be released with no further issues, but that trust was broken as Terry himself was swapped and taken hostage while the others were released. Terry would then spend the next 4 years in captivity, mostly in solitary confinement.

Following his release, Terence Waite was elected as a Fellow Commoner with Trinity Hall in Cambridge. Because of this, Waite wrote his first book titled Taken on Trust. The book describes the events of Lebanon, from his negotiations to his years spent in prison. The book would go on to become a best seller in the UK and internationally. In 2001 he was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy by the Anglia Ruskin University. Waite was given the Four Freedoms Award in 1992 for the Freedom of Worship. Also, in 1992, Durham University made him an honorary Doctor of Civil Law. He was elected a Visiting Fellow of Magdalen College in 2006.

Waite has also published several other popular books, such as Solitude: Memories, People, Places, Out of the Silence: Memories, Poems, Reflections and The Voyage of the Golden Handshake.