Jamal Khashoggi

Saudi journalist, columnist, and author

A contributor to the Washington Post’s Global Opinions, Jamal began his career as a correspondent for the English language Saudi Gazette. Between 1987-90, he was a foreign correspondent for the pan-Arab Arabic daily Alsharq Alawsat and the Jeddah-based, English language daily Arab News. He became widely recognized for his coverage of The Afghan War and the first Gulf War (1990-91).

From 1990 to 1999, Jamal was foreign correspondent for the other prominent pan-Arab Arabic daily, Al-Hayat. There he reported on Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Sudan and various conflicts in the Middle East. As a result of his extensive experience, he became known as an expert in political Islam and related movements.

In 1999, Jamal was appointed Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Arab News, the leading English newspaper of Saudi Arabia. In 2003, he became Editor-in-Chief of Al-Watan, the country’s pioneering reformist newspaper. In less than 2 month he lost his job because of his editorial policies. He was then appointed as the media advisor to Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi Ambassador in London and later Washington. In 2007, he returned to Al-Watan as Editor-in-Chief. In 2010, again due to his editorial style, pushing boundaries of discussion and debate within Saudi society, he was fired.

Jamal is now an independent writer based in the Washington, DC.