Translated by DeepL
Pierre Haski is one of the leading French voices in contemporary international journalism. A reporter, correspondent, columnist, essayist, documentary filmmaker, and president of Reporters Without Borders, he has devoted more than half a century to shedding light on the political, geopolitical, and democratic divisions of the contemporary world.
The conferral of an honorary doctorate from ULiège, followed by a lecture by Pierre Haski, will take place on March 22, 2027 as part of the “ : ULiège’s Major University Lectures .”
Pierre Haski’s career is distinguished by a rare synergy between on-the-ground experience, historical analysis, media education, and the defense of freedom of the press.
Born in Tunis in 1953, Pierre Haski belongs to a generation shaped by decolonization, political activism in youth, and the reshaping of the postwar world. This personal journey has profoundly shaped his perspective on identities, conflicts, and power dynamics. In an interview published by Le Soir in March 2026, he summed up this calling with the following statement: “Journalism has allowed me to find meaning.” This statement sheds light on his entire career: for Haski, journalism is not merely a profession focused on reporting news, but a way of understanding history as it unfolds and making it accessible to others.
A 1974 graduate of the Paris Center for Journalism Training, Pierre Haski began his career at Agence France-Presse. Notably, he served as a correspondent in Johannesburg from 1976 to 1980, at a time when South Africa was still under apartheid rule. In 1981, he joined *Libération*, where he held a series of positions in the international desk: head of the Africa section, foreign affairs correspondent, correspondent in Jerusalem, head of the international desk, and then correspondent in Beijing from 2000 to 2005. This succession of posts provides a comprehensive overview of the major issues of the second half of the 20th century and the early 21st: apartheid, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, China’s rise to power, shifts in the international order, human rights, and authoritarianism.
His experience in China plays a central role in his journalistic career. In Beijing, he maintained the blog *My China Diary*, whose outspoken tone led to its being blocked by Chinese authorities. This period gave rise to several important publications, including *Le Sang de la Chine*(The Blood of China), which won the International Media Award in Geneva in 2005 and the Joseph Kessel Prize in 2006, as well as *Cinq ans en Chine* (Five Years in China). It also fueled his interest in Chinese dissidents, particularly Liu Xiaobo, to whom he dedicated the 2019 book *Liu Xiaobo: The Man Who Defied Beijing*.
Pierre Haski has also played a role in the transformation of digital journalism. In 2007, after leaving *Libération*, he co-founded *Rue89*, a news site that contributed to the emergence of online journalism blending investigative reporting, analysis, reader participation, and digital culture.
Since August 2018, Pierre Haski has been in charge of the “Geopolitics” segment on France Inter’s morning show. In early 2026, he launched his YouTube channel, “Le Monde de Pierre Haski.”
His commitment to press freedom is another major focus of his career. President of Reporters Without Borders since 2017, he was reelected in July 2025 to lead the organization. In an interview with *Le Monde* in June 2025, he warned of the “shrinking space for freedom of expression and press freedom around the world” due to economic, technological, and political pressures. He added that “the current mix of factors is alarming for the future of journalism,” while emphasizing that quality journalism remains both possible and necessary.
The author of a dozen books, a columnist for *Le Nouvel Obs*, and a documentary filmmaker for *Arte*, Pierre Haski has notably published *Une terre doublement promise*. *Israel-Palestine: A Century of Conflict* in 2024 and *African Decolonizations * in 2025. He has also directed or co-directed several documentaries, including *Liu Xiaobo, the Man Who Defied Beijing*, *We Are Taiwan *, and *The Red Princess*. In his books and documentaries, Pierre Haski consistently focuses on the fault lines of the contemporary world: China, Africa, the Middle East, democracy, human rights, colonial memory, and freedom of information.
Through the breadth of his international experience, the steadfastness of his commitment to democracy, his role in the evolution of digital journalism, and his recognized ability to convey geopolitical complexity to a wide audience, Pierre Haski has built a career of remarkable intellectual depth. His journalistic work combines rigorous fieldwork, historical insight, educational value, and the defense of fundamental freedoms. By helping to shed light on the darkness of the contemporary world for a broad audience, Pierre Haski deserves to have his tireless work recognized in the academic community through the award of an honorary doctorate from our university.
Sources
- In 2026, Pierre Haski published *La fin d’un monde* with Stock. *Understanding Our Era with Pierre Haski*, an essay in which he reexamines fifty years of international upheavals in light of the current geopolitical shift—marked by the erosion of the post-1945 order, the return of power struggles, the rise of authoritarianism, and the crisis of shared truths.
- “Pierre Haski Re-elected Chair of the Board of Directors of Reporters Without Borders,” RSF website, July 9, 2025.
