35 Facts About Lyse Doucet

Lyse Marie Doucet is a Canadian journalist who is the BBC's Chief International Correspondent and senior presenter.

Lyse Doucet's father was Clarence "Boo" Emile Doucet, and her mother Norma.

Lyse Doucet's sister is Andrea Doucet, a Canadian professor of sociology.

Lyse Doucet graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, where she wrote for the university newspaper.

Lyse Doucet gained a Master of Arts degree in international relations from the University of Toronto in 1982.

Lyse Doucet is currently one of the organisation's honorary patrons.

Lyse Doucet is fluent in English and French, in addition to knowing some Dari and Arabic.

Lyse Doucet reported from Pakistan in 1988, and was based in Kabul from late 1988 to the end of 1989 to cover the Soviet troop withdrawal and its aftermath.

Lyse Doucet was the BBC correspondent in Islamabad from 1989 to 1993, reporting from Afghanistan and Iran.

Lyse Doucet played a leading role in the BBC's coverage of the Arab Spring, reporting from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Lyse Doucet has covered all major wars in the Middle East since the mid-1990s.

Lyse Doucet has been a frequent visitor to Pakistan and Afghanistan since the late 1980s.

Lyse Doucet's work includes the aftermath of major natural disasters, including the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which took her to India and Indonesia.

Lyse Doucet is a contributor on rotation with other BBC journalists to Dateline London on BBC News Channel and BBC World News.

Lyse Doucet reported extensively from Kabul Airport during August 2021, following the coalition withdrawal from Afghanistan after the Taliban offensive in the country.

Lyse Doucet was criticised in December 2024 for suggesting that Jewish people living in Syria would want to return to Damascus following the end of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Lyse Doucet is a former Council Member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Lyse Doucet is a founding member of the Marie Colvin Journalists' Network along with Lindsey Hilsum and Lady Jane Wellesley, a trustee of the Frontline Club for journalists, and a member of the Canadian Journalism Forum on Trauma and Violence.

Lyse Doucet is involved with Friends of Aschiana UK, which supports working street children in Afghanistan, and is an honorary patron of Canadian Crossroads International.

Lyse Doucet takes pride in her ancestry and attends the Acadian World Congress, which is held every five years.

Lyse Doucet featured on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on 30 January 2022.

Lyse Doucet last interviewed Ahmed Wali Karzai in April 2011, shortly before his assassination.

Lyse Doucet received the News and Factual award from the organisation Women in Film and Television.

Lyse Doucet won a Peabody and a David Bloom award in 2010 for her film on maternal mortality in Afghanistan, along with producer Melanie Marshall, Shoaib Sharifi and cameraman Tony Jolliffe.

Lyse Doucet won Best News Journalist at the 2010 Sony Radio Academy Awards.

Lyse Doucet was awarded the ITV Studios Achievement of the Year Award at the annual Women in Film and Television Awards in London.

In 2015, Lyse Doucet won the Sandford St Martin trustees' award "for her commitment to journalism and her intelligent and clear reporting of the religious elements of global events".

Lyse Doucet won One World Media's Radio Award for a documentary on Afghan women.

At the 2017 International Media Awards, Lyse Doucet was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award.

Lyse Doucet received the Charles Wheeler Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcast Journalism by the British Journalism Review.

Lyse Doucet has an honorary doctorate in Civil Law from the University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia; an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of New Brunswick ; an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from University College at the University of Toronto ; an honorary doctorate in journalism from Universite de Moncton; and an honorary doctorate from Queen's University in Kingston.

Lyse Doucet was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to British broadcast journalism.

Lyse Doucet was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in December 2018.

Lyse Doucet was nominated for another Peabody Award in 2021, for her work as a writer and reporter on Afghanistan: Documenting A Crucial Year.

In March 2023, Lyse Doucet was awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society at a ceremony in Perth, Scotland.