John Hooper

Born in 1950, John Hooper was educated at St Benedict’s Abbey in London and St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. At the age of eighteen, he travelled to Biafra during the Nigerian civil war to make a television documentary. Since then, he has spent more than 20 years as a foreign correspondent, working for - among others - the Economist, the Guardian, the Observer, BBC, NBC and Reuters. For several years in London, he was a presenter of BBC World Service’s ‘Twenty Four Hours’ current affairs programme.

Hooper has reported from more than 30 countries, including various war zones - most recently Kosovo and Afghanistan. He developed a special affection for Spain and its people after being posted to Madrid to cover the country’s eventful transition to democracy, and later returned. His book The New Spaniards draws on his experiences of nine years living in Spain.

Hooper is currently Rome correspondent of the Economist and the Guardian. He is married to a fellow-journalist, Lucinda Evans.