Robert W. van de Velde, Jr. ’75 Memorial Lecture 2024

Xan Smiley’s career in journalism has spanned more than half a century, predominantly as a writer and editor for The Economist, focusing on coverage of sub-Saharan Africa, Russia and the Soviet Union, the Middle East, the European Union, and the United States. In this lecture, Xan will analyze the success and failures of The Economist’s (and his own) coverage of events that have shaped the world.

Xan Smiley joined The Economist in 1983 as Middle East editor and became political editor and “Bagehot” columnist in 1992. In 1995 he became Europe editor, starting the “Charlemagne” column, and in October 2003 he became the Middle East and Africa Editor. Previously he was Washington correspondent of the Sunday Telegraph (1989-92), Moscow correspondent of the Daily Telegraph (1986-89), an editorial leader writer at The Times (1981-83), and the editor (and later co-owner) of Africa Confidential, a specialist newsletter.