Gilbert Sedbon

Gilbert Sedbon embodied the essential qualities of a great reporter: curiosity, energy and tenacity. He also had great charm, making friends and contacts easily at every level of society. Throughout his long career with Reuters, he was relentless in his pursuit of the latest news story. Born in Alexandria in 1917, he was a product of the eastern Mediterranean, cosmopolitan and multi-cultural. He was bilingual in French and English and spoke most of the languages of the region. He was unbeatable on his home ground in Egypt where he knew, and was known by, everyone who mattered. Based first in Alexandria and then in Cairo, he reported on the full spectrum of news - politics and economics, warfare and high society - from before and during the Second World War to the rise of Arab nationalism and the ousting of King Farouk. 

In 1956, during the Suez crisis, Nasser’s government expelled him together with many other foreigners. He and his wife, Yolande, and one-year-old baby son, Eric, went into exile in France where they settled permanently and built a strong family life, with their two sons and later grandchildren. Still with Reuters, Gilbert rebuilt his career as a top correspondent in Europe.

I first met Gilbert in Paris in the 1960s. He was equally at home reporting the intricacies of the Vietnam peace talks and the violence of the May 1968 uprising on the streets of Paris. He was already well into his second career, with an enviable range of diplomatic and political contacts. He was an all rounder, a reporter who would tackle any assignment. Gradually he also carved out his own special field of expertise in the defence and aviation sectors. In his autobiography entitled ‘From the Nile to the Seine’ - written in his nineties and published only last year - Gilbert recalls the journalistic coups and scoops of a remarkable multifaceted career.

A popular figure in the Paris press corps and around the world, Gilbert will be sorely missed by his many friends and colleagues. He is survived by his wife, Yolande, their two sons, Eric and Thierry, and four grandchildren. ■