1. Jonathan B Sopel was born on 22 May 1959 and is a British journalist, television presenter and podcaster.
20 Facts About Jon Sopel
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Jon Sopel was formerly BBC News's North America editor; chief political correspondent for the domestic news channel BBC News; a presenter on the Politics Show on BBC One and the BBC News channel; and from 2013 to 2014, the main presenter of Global on BBC World News.
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Jon Sopel was educated at Christ's College, Finchley before graduating with a 2:1 honours degree in Politics and Sociology from University of Southampton.
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Jon Sopel was the president of the Students' Union, for the National Organisation of Labour Students during 1982 and 1983.
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Jon Sopel was a freelance writer and broadcaster before joining the BBC in 1983 as a reporter and producer for BBC Radio Solent.
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Jon Sopel went on to become the chief political correspondent for BBC News 24 and later spent three years as the BBC's Paris correspondent.
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In 2005, Jon Sopel joined The Politics Show on BBC One replacing Jeremy Vine as the programme's main presenter.
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Jon Sopel made occasional appearances on BBC One news bulletins as a relief anchor.
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Jon Sopel has been an occasional stand-in presenter for Newsnight, and has made past appearances on Breakfast, HARDtalk and The Daily Politics.
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In October 2012, it was announced that Sopel would present the new programme Global with Jon Sopel, airing 15:00 to 16:30 GMT every Monday to Thursday on BBC World News.
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In January 2014, Jon Sopel had a rare interview with the Emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
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In 2019, BuzzFeed News revealed that Jon Sopel gave a paid confidential speech to Philip Morris International at a staff conference in Miami.
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In 2020, Jon Sopel began presenting the BBC podcast Americast alongside Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis and chief North America reporter Anthony Zurcher.
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In October 2021, Jon Sopel announced his departure as North America editor, saying he was taking a "long break" to write a book.
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In February 2022, Jon Sopel announced he would be leaving the BBC after an exclusive signing with LBC to launch a new podcast and joint radio show with fellow presenter Emily Maitlis.
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Jon Sopel met his wife, Linda Twissell, while working at Radio Solent; the couple have a son and daughter and live in North London.
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In October 2010, Jon Sopel required surgery to his hip when he crashed his motor scooter.
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In 2007, Jon Sopel was voted 'Political Journalist of the Year' by the Public Affairs Industry.
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Jon Sopel was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Southampton in 2011.
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In 2016 Jon Sopel was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University of Southampton.