Terry Waite:
International Terrorism - Examining the Root Causes
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| Terry Waite, author, humanitarian, and hostage negotiator was born in the County of Chesire, England, on the 31st of May 1939. He was educated locally, and recieved his higher education in London. On leaving college, he was appointed as Education Advisor to the Anglican Bishop of Bristol, England, and remained in that post until he moved to East Africa in 1969. In Uganda, he traveled extensively throughout East Africa. While in Uganda with his wife Frances and their four children, he witnessed the Amin coup and narrowly escaped death on several occasions.
In 1972 he worked as an International Consultant to a Roman Catholic medical order and moved with his family to live in Rome, Italy. From this base he traveled throughout Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Europe, both conducting and advising on programs concerned with institutional change and development issues connected with both health and education.
In 1980, he was recruited by the Archbishop of Canterbury and moved to Lambeth Palace, in London. In his capacity as Advisor to the Archbishop, he again traveled extensively throughout the world and was responsible for the Archbishop's diplomatic and ecclesiastical exchanges.
In the early 1980's, he successfully negotiated the release of several hostages from Iran, attracting wide-spread public attention. In 1983 he negotiated with Colonel Ghadafe for the release of British hostages held in Libya and again was successful. In Jaunary 1987 while negotiating for the release of Western hostages in Lebanon, he himself was taken captive and remained in captivity for 1,760 days, the first four years which were spent in total solitary confinement.
Following his release in Septemeber 1991, he was elected a Fellow Commonor at Trinity Hall Cambiridge, England, where he wrote his first book, Taken on Trust. This quickly became an international best-seller and headed the lists in U.K. and elsewhere. Following his experience as a captive, he decided to make a career change, and determined to devote himslef to study, writing, lecturing, and humanitarian activites. His second book, Footfalls in Memory, is a collection of selections from the books, poems, and prayers he had read throughout his life and then remembered during his solitary confinement in Beirut.
Since his release, Waite has been in constant demand as a lecturer, writer, and broadcaster. There has been a particular interest in the lectures he has delievered relating his experience, as a negotiator and hostage, to the pressures faced by executives and managers. Stress, loneliness, and negotiating under acute pressure are but some of the issuess with which he has unique experience, and his ability to communicate clearly and with good humor has placed him in constant demand as a speaker not only to the business community, but also to professionals in social work, education, medicine, and religious groups.
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