Marcus Bleasdale

Marcus Terence Luke Bleasdale (born 1968) is a British photojournalist. His books include One Hundred Years of Darkness, The Rape of a Nation (2009) and The Unravelling (2015). Bleasdale was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to international photojournalism and human rights.

Life and career Bleasdale has covered the conflict within the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1998, which was published in his first book One Hundred Years of Darkness. His second book, The Rape of a Nation, addressed the issues of the conflict being fuelled by natural resource exploration and was awarded the Best Photography Book Award in 2009 by Pictures of the Year International in the USA. US House of Representatives, The United Nations and the Houses of Parliament in the UK and the International Criminal Court in The Hauge.

He works regularly with Human Rights Watch, UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières Saint Kizito Orphanage and other NGOs to highlight health and human rights issues in several countries. He works to cover issues underreported by mainstream media. In 2007, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute awarded Bleasdale a grant to continue his work on justice and accountability in the DRC. He is an Enough Project Fellow.

Bleasdale was a member of the VII Photo Agency until 2015 and a member of its board. He has been one of the journalists covering the conflict in Central African Republic between 2013 and 2017, documenting the violence for Human Rights Watch alongside their Director of Emergencies, Peter Bouckaert. This has been covered by many publications and news channels, including National Geographic.

He has had his work published in the UK, Europe and the US in Sunday Times Magazine, The Telegraph Magazine, GEO, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, Stern, Le Monde, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones (Masthead Photographer), Aftenposten and Die Zeit.

Bleasdale graduated with an MSt in International Relations from Cambridge University and is still documenting human rights issues around the world and working as managing director of Wilstar, a Social Impact Not for Profit based in Oslo, Norway.

Personal life He lives in Oslo with his wife, Karin Beate, and daughters.

Awards 2004: UNICEF Photographer of the Year 2005: Readers Award (with two others), Days Japan International Photojournalism Awards. 2005: The Olivier Rebbot Award for Best Foreign Reporting 2005: The Open Society Institute (OSI) Distribution Grant 2005: Pictures of the Year International (POYi) Magazine Photographer of the Year Award 2005: The Alexia Foundation for World Peace 2005: The World Press Photo of the Year 2007: Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute awarded him a grant to continue his work on justice and accountability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2007: The Freedom of Expression Foundation Norway 2009: Public Prize (Reader's Award) (along with four others), Days Japan International Photojournalism Awards. 2009: Magazine News Award in POYi 2010: Anthropographia Award for Photography and Human Rights 2010: The Hansel Mieth Award 2010: Best Photography Book Award from POYi 2011: The Freedom of Expression Norway 2011: Webby Award for the feature Dear Obama 2012: Royal Photographic Society Hood Medal for meritorious performance in photography, with particular emphasis on photography for public service. 2012: Nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Award with other members of VII Photo Agency for the film Starved For Attention, made for Médecins Sans Frontières. 2013: Overseas Press Club of America Awards, Feature Photography Award for Last of the Vikings 2014: World Press Photo, 3rd Prize Contemporary Issues for Last of the Vikings 2014: Robert Capa Gold Medal from the Overseas Press Club. 2015: FotoEvidence Book Award for Inferno:Central African Republic. 2015: W. Eugene Smith Fellowship from the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund. 2023: Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to international photojournalism and human rights. United States Senate (2009) Headquarters of the United Nations, New York (2009) The Houses of Parliament, UK (2010) The White House (2012) Fotografiska Farming Out of Poverty (2013) Christie's London (2015) IMPACT for Human Rights Watch. The International Criminal Court, The Hauge (2018) The United Nations Headquarters, New York (2018) Venice Biennale (2019)