Rory Stewart

Rory Stewart OBE was born in Hong Kong in 1973. He is the author of four books, including bestsellers The Places in Between, which describes the last section of his 6,000 mile walk across Afghanistan, and The Marches, about a walk with his father in the borderlands between Scotland and England. His books have sold over half a million copies, been translated into multiple languages, and been awarded several prizes including the Ondaatje Prize of the Royal Society of Literature.

From 2010-2019 he was the Member of Parliament for Penrith and The Border. During his career as a politician he served in several ministerial roles, including as Secretary of State for International Development in 2019. He has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (for his work in Iraq), the Gold Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (for his work in Afghanistan), a Scottish BAFTA (for the documentaries he has made and presented with the BBC) and honorary doctorates from Stirling University and the American University of Paris. He tweets at @RoryStewartUK.