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RICHARD DOWDEN, Director, Royal African Society, London

Richard Dowden first went to Africa in 1971 as a volunteer teacher where He spent nearly two years in Uganda years that coincided with the first two years of Idi Amin's rule. It was an ominous introduction to Africa but He loved it. Had He not been forced to leave at the end of 1972 I would probably be there still. However He did not return to Africa until 1983 and in the meantime He had become a journalist. For the next 20 years Richard travelled to Africa continuously and have now visited and written about almost every country on the continent. Having always lived in London most trips to Africa sometimes took Richard to a single country for a few days and sometimes on extended journeys through several countries. He worked for the Times until 1986 when He became Africa Editor of the Independent and in 1995 took the post of Africa Editor at The Economist. He also made three television documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 on Africa.

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