More information on Rory Stewart can be found at: www.turquoisemountain.org/ and  www.rorystewartbooks.com/

 

In 2000, Rory Stewart took a leave from his post as a British diplomat and spent the next two years walking across Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal. He described his 6 000-mile journey in his book, The Places in Between, which the New York Times called “a flat-out masterpiece” and named as one of its Ten Best Books of 2006.

In 2003, Stewart became the coalition Deputy Governor of Maysan and Dhi Qar — two provinces in Southern Iraq.

 

Stewart has written for a range of publications including the New York Times, the London Review of Books, the Guardian, the Financial Times and Granta. In 2004, was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and he became a Fellow of the Carr Centre at Harvard University. He now lives in Kabul, where he runs the Turquoise Mountain Foundation.

 

As part of the IDRC Speaker Series, Stewart was in Ottawa on October 3, 2007 to offer unique insights into Afghanistan's democratic development challenges and opportunities.