Born on the Yorkshire moors, Mark Huband grew up in Harlow, Essex. As a journalist

and author he spent twenty-five years travelling the world. Postings as a newspaper

correspondent in Abidjan and Nairobi took him to most countries of sub-Saharan

Africa as they emerged from the Cold War. Initially for the Financial Times and then as

Africa correspondent for the Guardian and the Observer, he covered the civil war in

Liberia, the famine in Somalia, genocide in Rwanda and Burundi, and the conflicts in

Angola and Sudan. Moving to Morocco, his focus was the emergence of political Islam

across North Africa and the Middle East. Rebasing to Cairo as regional correspondent

for the Financial Times, he became immersed in the turmoil stretching from Afghanistan

to Algeria. Moving to London, in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks he

was appointed to oversee the FT’s coverage of Al-Qaida – a role which took him from

the slums of Manila to the prison at Guantanamo Bay.