LYSE DOUCET is a Canadian journalist and the BBC's Chief International Correspondent. In the course of a career spanning four decades, she has reported from countries around the world and was based as a correspondent in Jerusalem, Amman, Islamabad, Kabul, and Abidjan. She has played a leading role in the BBC's coverage of major events including the recent Iran-Israel war, the Gaza war, the Arab Spring, and the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. She received an OBE in the Queen's Honours list in 2014, and was admitted to the Order of Canada in 2019. She has received many awards, including most recently the 2024 Zenger Award for Press Freedom from the University of Arizona and the 2019 Trailblazer Award from Georgetown University. She was a recipient of the Colombia School of Journalism Award in 2016, an Emmy in 2014 for her team’s reporting from Syria, Peabody and David Bloom Awards for her work from Syria and Afghanistan, and an Edward R. Murrow award for her team’s reporting from Tunisia. In 2021, she was nominated for a Peabody for her work as a writer and reporter on the BBC podcast Afghanistan: Documenting A Crucial Year. Doucet has eighteen honorary doctorates from leading British and Canadian Universities. She has a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Toronto, and a BA Hons. from Queen’s University in Kingston. She is also a senior fellow of Massey College of the University of Toronto. Doucet has been reporting on Afghanistan since 1988. She visits the Inter-Continental whenever she is in Kabul.
