David Andrew Smith (born March 5, 1952) is a former Deputy Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Washington DC.[1] In 2010 he was named as Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[2] A successor was named in 2016.[3] Previously, he worked as an award-winning TV correspondent with ITN and Channel 4 News. In January 2008, The Daily Telegraph identified him as one of the most influential Britons in America. Mr. Smith, a national of the United Kingdom, holds a Master of Arts degree in humanities from Lincoln College, Oxford University. He is married and has three sons and one daughter.[2]

Biography edit

Smith was born in 1952, the son of John and Patricia Smith. He was educated at Oxford University, where he received BA Hons and MA. He was a Reuters correspondent in Spain and Italy between 1975 and 1978 and then, working for ITN and Channel 4 News, reported from Africa and was Middle East Correspondent, Moscow Correspondent, Diplomatic Correspondent and United States Correspondent. While working as a TV correspondent, he wrote two books, a biography of Robert Mugabe and a study of Israel's relationship with the Palestinians. He also taught journalism as a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Michigan and Maryland, focusing on the role of the foreign correspondent in influencing foreign policy.[2] In 2004, he joined the United Nations Information Centre in Washington, D.C., and represented UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the Americas from 2004–2014.[4]

Awards edit

  • International Reporting Award, Royal Television Society, London 1983
  • Gold Medal, New York Television Festival, 2000

Publications edit

  • Mugabe, a biography, (Sphere Books, London, 1981) ISBN 0-7221-7868-9
  • Prisoners of God, the Modern-day conflict of Arab and Israeli (Quartet Books, London 1987) ISBN 0-7043-2607-8

References edit