Terry Waite

Humanitarian and author; former hostage negotiator

Terry Waite is a humanitarian and author who previously worked as a hostage negotiator in the 1980s. Terry was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John McCarthy. On 20 January 1987, he was taken hostage. Waite remained in captivity for 1,763 days, the first four years of which were spent in total solitary confinement, and it was not until 18 November 1991 that he was released.

Following his release, Waite wrote the book Taken on Trust which became an international bestseller, as did his second book, Footfalls in Memory. Terry is also president of the charity, Y Care International (the YMCA's international development and relief agency), and patron of AbleChildAfrica and Habitat for Humanity Great Britain. He is also president of Emmaus UK, a charity for formerly homeless people.