Raghida Dergham

Since 1989, Raghida Dergham has been a columnist and senior diplomatic correspondent for the London-based Al Hayat, the leading independent Arabic daily. In her weekly column on international political affairs as well as her articles, she brings insight on the cultural chasm between the Arab and Western worlds and what must be done to bridge that gap. Marjorie Ranson of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University has said that "the Middle East is not only a part of the world marked by stark difference and violent collisions. It is also marked by nuance and complication. Raghida has the intellect and fluency in English and Arabic, which allows her to go beyond the headlines to see the opportunities." Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities, Dergham candidly discusses the complexities of the nations, leaders, and policies of the Arab world and how those complexities interface with the United States and the west.

Insightful Observer. Featured in the PBS documentary Caught in the Crossfire, Dergham is also a political analyst for NBC, MSNBC, and the Arab satellite LBC. She has been a  frequent guest on PBS's Charlie Rose and The News Hour, CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, Canada's CBC, and Al-Jazeera, as well as a radio guest on NPR and the BBC. Dergham reports on the international political scene for Los Angeles Times Syndicate Global Viewpoint and has contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, and Newsweek. Through her journalism, she contextualizes the latest events in the Middle East, their impact on the world stage, and how critical it is to understand diverse cultures in the world. Her breadth of experience--she has conducted exclusive interviews with more than 50 foreign ministers as well as U.S. presidents, secretaries of state, and other world leaders--is invaluable in understanding the history of the region and the mind-set of its peoples and leaders.

Daring Reporter. From mail bombs to military tribunals, Dergham's career has brought her into jeopardy on more than one occasion. As the author of what New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman called "a smart and important column," she has survived death threats and continues to battle the prejudices of being an independent and successful woman journalist working in the Arab world. She has broken major news stories, such as the Oslo secret talks; covered peace conferences and summits; accompanied UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on his tours of the Middle East; and was the only journalist to interview Ramzi Youssef, the alleged mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing. A former president of the United Nations Correspondents Association, she addressed the UN General Assembly on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.