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Arms control is a term for restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation, and usage of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction.^[1] Arms control is typically exercised through the use of diplomacy which seeks to impose such limitations upon consenting participants through international treaties and agreements, although it may also comprise efforts by a nation or group of nations to enforce limitations upon a non-consenting country.

On a national or community level, arms control can amount to programs to control the access of private citizens to weapons.^[2] This is often referred to as gun politics, as firearms are the primary focus of such efforts in most places.^[3]

Enactment[link]

Arms control treaties and agreements are often seen as a way to avoid costly arms races which would prove counter-productive to national aims and future peace.^[4] Some are used as ways to stop the spread of certain military technologies (such as nuclear weaponry or missile technology) in return for assurances to potential developers that they will not be victims of those technologies. Additionally, some arms control agreements are entered to limit the damage done by warfare, especially to civilians and the environment, which is seen as bad for all participants regardless of who wins a war.

While arms control treaties are seen by many peace proponents as a key tool against war, by the participants, they are often seen as simply ways to limit the high costs of the development and building of weapons, and even reduce the costs associated with war itself. Arms control can even be a way of maintaining the viability of military action by limiting those weapons that would make war so costly and destructive as to make it no longer a viable tool for national policy.

Enforcement[link]

Enforcement of arms control agreements has proven difficult over time. Most agreements rely on the continued desire of the participants to abide by the terms to remain effective. Usually, when a nation no longer desires to abide by the terms, they usually will seek to either covertly circumvent the terms or to simply end their participation in the treaty. This was seen in Washington Naval Treaty^[5] (and the subsequent London Naval Treaty^[6]) , where most participants sought to work around the limitations, some more legitimately than others.^[7] The United States developed better technology to get better performance from their ships while still working within the weight limits, the United Kingdom exploited a loop-hole in the terms, the Italians misrepresented the weight of their vessels, and when up against the limits, Japan simply left the treaty. The nations which violated the terms of the treaty did not suffer great consequences for their actions. Within little more than a decade, the treaty was abandoned. The Geneva Protocol^[8] has lasted longer and been more successful at being respected, but still nations have violated it at will when they have felt the need. Enforcement has been haphazard, with measures more a matter of politics than adherence to the terms. This meant sanctions and other measures tended to be advocated against violators primarily by their natural political enemies, while violations have been ignored or given only token measures by their political allies.^[9]

More recent arms control treaties have included more stringent terms on enforcement of violations as well as verification. This last has been a major obstacle to effective enforcement, as violators often attempt to covertly circumvent the terms of the agreements. Verification is the process of determining whether or not a nation is complying with the terms of an agreement, and involves a combination of release of such information by participants^[10] as well as some way to allow participants to examine each other to verify that information.^[11] This often involves as much negotiation as the limits themselves, and in some cases questions of verification have led to the breakdown of treaty negotiations (for example, verification was cited as a major concern by opponents of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, ultimately not ratified by the United States).^[12][13]

Nations may remain in a treaty while seeking to break the limits of that treaty as opposed to simply withdrawing from it. This is for two major reasons. To openly defy an agreement, even if one withdraws from it, often is seen in a bad light politically and can carry diplomatic repercussions. Additionally, if one remains in an agreement, competitors who are also participatory may be held to the limitations of the terms, while withdrawal releases your opponents to make the same developments you are making, limiting the advantage of that development.

Theory of Arms Control[link]

Scholars and practitioners such as John Steinbruner, Jonathan Dean or Stuart Croft worked extensively on the theoretical backing of arms control. Arms control is meant to break the security dilemma. It aims at mutual security between partners and overall stability (be it in a crisis situation, a grand-strategy, or stability to put an end to an arms race). Other than stability, arms control comes with cost reduction and damage limitation. It is differs from disarmament since the maintenance of stability might allow for mutually controlled armament and does not take a peace-without-weapons-stance. Nevertheless, arms control is a defensive strategy in principle, since transparency, equality, and stability do not fit into an offensive strategy.

History of Arms Control[link]

One of the first recorded attempts in arms control was a set of rules laid down in ancient Greece by the Amphictyonic Leagues. Rulings specified how war could be waged, and breaches of this could be punished by fines or by war.

There were few recorded attempts to control arms during the period between this and the rise of the Roman Catholic Church. The church used its position as a trans-national organization to limit the means of warfare. The 989 Peace of God (extended in 1033) ruling protected noncombatants, agrarian and economic facilities, and the property of the church from war. The 1027 Truce of God also tried to prevent violence between Christians. The Second Lateran Council in 1139 prohibited the use of crossbows against other Christians, although it did not prevent its use against non-Christians.

The development of firearms led to an increase in the devastation of war. The brutality of wars during this period led to efforts to formalize the rules of war, with humane treatment for prisoners of war or wounded, as well as rules to protect non-combatants and the pillaging of their property. However during the period until the beginning of the 19th century few formal arms control agreements were recorded, except theoretical proposals and those imposed on defeated armies.

One treaty which was concluded was the Strasbourg Agreement of 1675. This is the first international agreement limiting the use of chemical weapons, in this case, poison bullets. The treaty was signed between France and The Holy Roman Empire

The 1817 Rush-Bagot Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom was the first arms control treaty of what can be considered the modern industrial era, leading to the demilitarization of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain region of North America.^[14] This was followed by the 1871 Treaty of Washington which led to total demilitarisation.

The industrial revolution led to the increasing mechanisation of warfare, as well as rapid advances in the development of firearms; the increased potential of devastation (which was seen in the battlefields of World War I) led to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia calling together the leaders of 26 nations for the First Hague Conference in 1899. The Conference led to the signing of the Hague Convention (of 1899) that led to rules of declaring and conducting warfare as well as the use of modern weaponry, and also led to the setting up of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

A Second Hague Conference was called in 1907 leading to additions and amendments to the original 1899 agreement.^[15] A Third Hague Conference was called for 1915, but this was abandoned due to the First World War.

After the First World War the League of Nations was set up which attempted to limit and reduce arms.^[16] However the enforcement of this policy was not effective. Various naval conferences were held during the period between the First and Second World Wars to limit the number and size of major warships of the five great naval powers.

The 1925 Geneva Conference led to the banning of chemical weapons (as toxic gases) during war as part of the Geneva Protocol. The 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact, whilst ineffective, attempted for "providing for the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy".^[17]

After World War II the United Nations was set up as a body to promote world peace.^[18] In 1957 the International Atomic Energy Agency was set up to monitor the proliferation of nuclear technology, including that of nuclear weapons. The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed to prevent further spread of nuclear weapons technology to countries outside the five that already possessed them: the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and China.^[19]

The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between the United States and Soviet Union in the late 1960s/early 1970s led to further weapons control agreements. The SALT I talks led to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and an Interim Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement (see SALT I), both in 1972. The SALT II talks started in 1972 leading to agreement in 1979. Due to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan the United States never ratified the treaty, however the agreement was honoured by both sides.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed between the United States and Soviet Union in 1987 and ratified in 1988, leading to an agreement to destroy all missiles with ranges from 500 to 5,500 kilometers.^[20]

The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention was signed banning the manufacture and use of chemical weapons.^[21]

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties were signed, as START I and START II, by the US and Soviet Union, further restricting weapons.^[22] This was further moved on by the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1996 banning all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes.^[23][24]

List of treaties and conventions related to arms control[link]

Some of the more important international arms control agreements follow:

• Washington Naval Treaty, 1922-1939^[25](as part of the naval conferences)
• Geneva Protocol on chemical and biological weapons, 1925
• Antarctic Treaty, signed 1959, entered into force 1961
• Partial Test Ban Treaty, signed and entered into force 1963
• Outer Space Treaty, signed and entered into force 1967^[26]
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed 1968, entered into force 1970
• Seabed Arms Control Treaty, signed 1971, entered into force 1972^[27]
• Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I), signed and ratified 1972, in force 1972-1977
• Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, signed and entered into force 1972, terminated following U.S. withdrawal 2002
• Biological Weapons Convention, signed 1972, entered into force 1975^[28]
• Threshold Test Ban Treaty, signed 1974, entered into force 1990
• SALT II signed 1979, never entered into force
• Environmental Modification Convention, signed 1977, entered into force 1978
• Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, signed 1980, entered into force 1983
• Moon Treaty, signed 1979, entered into force 1984^[29]
• Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed 1987, entered into force 1988
• Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, (CFE Treaty) signed 1990, entered into force 1992^[30]
• Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), signed 1991, entered into force 1994, expired 2009 ^[31]
• Chemical Weapons Convention, signed 1993, entered into force 1997
• START II, signed 1993, ratified 1996 (United States) and 2000 (Russia), terminated following Russian withdrawal 2002^[32]
• Ottawa Treaty on anti-personnel land mines, signed 1997, entered into force 1999^[33]
• Open Skies Treaty, signed 1992, entered into force 2002^[34]
• Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), signed 2002, entered into force 2003, expires 2012
• Convention on Cluster Munitions, signed 2008, entered into force 2010^{[35][36][37][38]}
• New START Treaty, signed by Russia and the United States in April 2010, entered into force in February 2011^{[39][40][41][42]}

Nuclear weapon free zone treaties[link]

• Treaty of Tlatelolco (Latin America and the Caribbean), signed 1967, entered into force 1972
• Treaty of Rarotonga (South Pacific), signed 1985, entered into force 1986^[43]
• Treaty of Bangkok (Southeast Asia), signed 1995, entered into force 1997^[44]
• Treaty of Pelindaba (Africa), signed 1996, entered into force 2009
• Treaty of Semipalatinsk (Central Asia), signed 2006, entered into force 2008^[45]

Other treaties also envision the creation of NWFZ, among other objectives. These are the following:

• Antarctic Treaty, signed 1959, entered into force 1961
• Outer Space Treaty, signed and entered into force 1967
• Seabed Arms Control Treaty, signed 1971, entered into force 1972

Pending treaties[link]

• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, signed 1996

Proposed treaties[link]

• Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty^[46]
• Nuclear weapons convention
• Space Preservation Treaty
• Final document in the framework of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms^[47][48][49]

Export control regimes[link]

• Zangger Committee 1971-
• Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) 1974-
• Australia Group 1985-
• Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), 1987-
• Wassenaar Arrangement, 1996-

Nonbinding declarations[link]

• Ayacucho Declaration 1974

Arms Control Organizations[link]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The intergovernmental organizations for arms control are the following:

• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
• Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
• Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO PrepCom)
• Conference on Disarmament (CD)
• United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
• United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
• the now disbanded United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), the successor to United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM)
• failed proposal^[50] for Organisation for the Prohibition of Biological Weapons

There are also numerous non-governmental organizations that promote a global reduction in nuclear arms and offer research and analysis about U.S. nuclear weapons policy. Pre-eminent among these organizations is the Arms Control Association, founded in 1971 to promote public understanding of and support for arms control. Others include:

• Federation of American Scientists (FAS) -- founded in 1945 as the Federation of Atomic Scientists by veterans of the Manhattan Project.
• Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament -- a leading disarmament organization in the United Kingdom, founded in 1957.
• Peace Action -- formerly SANE (the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy), founded in 1957
• Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) -- founded by Bernard Lown in 1961.
• Council for a Livable World -- founded in 1962 by physicist Leó Szilárd and other scientists who believed that nuclear weapons should be controlled and eventually eliminated.
• Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) -- founded in 1969 by faculty and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Arms Control Association -- founded in 1971.
• Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation -- founded in 1980 as a sister organization to the Council for a Livable World.
• International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) -- founded in 1981.
• Alliance for Nuclear Accountability -- a national network of organizations working to address issues of nuclear weapons production and waste cleanup, founded in 1987 as the Military Production Network.
• Global Zero -- founded in 2008.

See also[link]

	Book: Arms control treaties
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Arms embargo
• Gun politics
• List of chemical arms control agreements
• List of international environmental agreements
• Naval conference
• Nuclear disarmament
• SALW
• Small Arms Survey

References[link]

• Randall Forsberg, ed., Arms Control Reporter 1995-2005, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1995–2004.
• Wheeler-Bennett, Sir John Disarmament and security since Locarno 1925-1931; being the political and technical background of the general disarmament conference, 1932, New York, Howard Fertig, 1973.
• Giuseppe Gagliano-Maurizio Boni,Sicurezza internazionale e controllo degli armamenti,New Press 2001

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2. ^ "Gun Control". Almanac of Policy Issues. http://www.policyalmanac.org. http://www.policyalmanac.org/crime/guns.shtml. Retrieved 21 May 2012. 
3. ^ James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith (22). "Gun Control Facts" (in English). Just Facts. Just Facts. http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp. Retrieved 21 May 2012. 
4. ^ Anup Shah (6). "Arms Control" (in English) (Article). Global Issues. http://www.globalissues.org. http://www.globalissues.org/issue/66/arms-control. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
5. ^ "CONFERENCE ON THE LIMITATION OF ARMAMENT, WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 12 1921-FEBRUARY 6, 1922.". ibiblio. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/pre-war/1922/nav_lim.html. Retrieved 21 May 2012. 
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7. ^ Peter Beisheim MA. "Naval Treaties: Born of the Second London Naval Treaty:A concise investigation of the qualitative limitations of capital ships 1936 – 1941" (in English) (Essay). Bismarck & Tirpitz. John Asmussen. http://www.bismarck-class.dk/miscellaneous/naval_treaties/born_of_the_second_london_naval_treaty.html. Retrieved 21 May 2012. 
8. ^ "Geneva Protocol". FAS: Weapons of Mass Destruction. Federation of American Scientists. http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/geneva/intro.htm. Retrieved 21 May 2012. 
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10. ^ Tom Z. Collina; Daniel Salisbury (research assistant) (August 2010). "Chemical and Biological Weapons Status at a Glance" (in English) (Briefing summary). Arms Control Today. Arms Control Association. http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/cbwprolif. Retrieved 21 May 2012. 
11. ^ A. Walter Dorn and Douglas S. Scott (2000). "COMPLIANCE MECHANISMS FOR DISARMAMENT TREATIES" (in English) (Article). Walter Dorn. Verification Research, Training and Information Centre, London: Verification Yearbook 2000. p. Chapter 15. http://www.walterdorn.org/pub/27. Retrieved 21 May 2012. 
12. ^ Jonathan Medalia (3). "Comprehensive Nuclear Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments" (in English) (Report). CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service. http://www.thereaganvision.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/CRS-Comprehensive-Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty-Background-and-Current-Developments.pdf. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 
13. ^ Lawrence J. Korb, Alexander H. Rothman (23). "Fukushima: Another reason to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty" (in English) (Article). Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/fukushima-another-reason-to-ratify-the-comprehensive-test-ban-treaty. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 
14. ^ "British-American Diplomacy Exchange of Notes Relative to Naval Forces on the American Lakes". The Avalon Project. Lillian Goldman Law Library. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/br1817m.asp. Retrieved 16 May 2012. 
15. ^ "Declaration (XIV) Prohibiting the Discharge of Projectiles and Explosives from Balloons. The Hague, 18 October 1907.". Humainitarian Law. International Committee of the Red Cross. http://www.icrc.org/IHL.NSF/INTRO/245?OpenDocument. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
16. ^ "Arms Control and Disarmament - Between the world wars, 1919–1939". Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. Advameg, Inc.. http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/A-D/Arms-Control-and-Disarmament-Between-the-world-wars-1919-1939.html. Retrieved 16 May 2012. 
17. ^ "Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928". Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928. The Avalon Project. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/kbpact.htm. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
18. ^ "History of the UN". United Nations. http://www.un.org. http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/history/. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
19. ^ Council on Foreign Relations: Global Governance Monitor on Nonproliferation, available at http://www.cfr.org/publication/18985/
20. ^ Seiitsu Tachibana (1998). [ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/metadb/up/kiyo/hps/11/hps_11_151.pdf "Seiitsu Tachibana, "Much ado about something : The factors that induced Reagan and Gorbachev to conclude the INF Treaty""]. Hiroshima Peace Science, Vol.11. Nagasaki Institute of Applied Science. p. Hirospage.151-182. ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/metadb/up/kiyo/hps/11/hps_11_151.pdf. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 
21. ^ "Articles of the Chemical Weapons Convention". Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. OPCW. http://www.opcw.org/chemical-weapons-convention/articles/. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 
22. ^ KIRIT RADIA (24). "Nuclear Treaty: A Guide to Disarmament" (in English) (News article). ABC News. ABC News Internet Ventures. Yahoo! - ABC News Network. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/start-nuclear-weapons-treaty-guide-disarmament/story?id=12469644#.T7VB19kZHIU. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 
23. ^ "Nuclear Testing Is an Acceptable Risk for Arms Control" (in English) (Article). Scientific American. Scientific American, a Division of Nature America, Inc.. 2. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nuclear-testing-is-an-acceptable-risk. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
24. ^ "What is the CTBT?". Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Organization (CTBTO). Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Organization (CTBTO). http://www.ctbto.org/specials/who-we-are/?Fsize=xhczayqbmdyc. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
25. ^ The last naval conference treaty was to expire de jure in 1942, but in fact it ceased to be enforced with the start of World War II
26. ^ "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. UNOOSA. http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/oosa/SpaceLaw/outerspt.html. Retrieved 16 May 2012. 
27. ^ "The Seabed Treaty". TREATY ON THE PROHIBITION OF THE EMPLACEMENT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND OTHER WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION ON THE SEABED AND THE OCEAN FLOOR AND IN THE SUBSOIL THEREOF. US Department of State. http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/treaties/seabed1.html. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
28. ^ "Disarmament:The Biological Weapons Convention". UNOG. UNOG. http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/%28httpPages%29/04FBBDD6315AC720C1257180004B1B2F?OpenDocument. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
29. ^ The Moon Treaty entered into force in 1984, but the great majority of states have neither signed nor ratified it, including the major spacefaring nations
30. ^ Post–Cold War Amendments to the CFE Treaty were agreed in 1996, but never entered into force. Russia announced its intended suspension of the treaty in 2007.
31. ^ START I was a successor to the expired SALT agreements.
32. ^ "Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II)". Federation of American Scientists. Federation of American Scientists. http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/start2/. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
33. ^ The largest producers of anti-personnel land mines, China, Russia and the United States, have not adhered to the Ottawa Treaty on land mines.
34. ^ Office of the Spokesperson (23). "Open Skies Treaty: Fact Sheet" (in English). U.S. Department of State. U.S. State Department. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/03/186738.htm. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
35. ^ "The Convention". Convention on Cluster Munitions – CCM. Convention on Cluster Munitions – CCM. http://www.clusterconvention.org/. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
36. ^ "Cluster bomb treaty reaches ratification, UN says" (in English) (News article). BBC World News. BBC. 17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8519360.stm. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
37. ^ "Q&A: Cluster bomb treaty" (in English) (News article). BBC World News. BBC. 3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7762914.stm. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
38. ^ Stuart Hughes (1). "Treaty enacted to ban cluster bombs". BBC World News. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10829992. Retrieved 13 May 2012. 
39. ^ Peter Wilk (19). "Don't play politics with new START treaty" (in English). CNN. Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-19/opinion/wilk.new.start.treaty_1_nuclear-weapons-president-medvedev-strategic-arms-reduction-treaty?_s=PM:OPINION. Retrieved 16 May 2012. 
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42. ^ PETER BAKER (21). "Arms Treaty With Russia Headed for Ratification" (in English) (Article). The New York Times. The New York Times Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/world/europe/22start.html?partner=rss&emc=rss/. Retrieved 16 May 2012. 
43. ^ "South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone (SPNFZ) Treaty Treaty of Rarotonga". Federation of American Scientists. (Federation of American Scientists)www.fas.org. http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/spnfz/index.html. Retrieved 16 May 2012. 
44. ^ "Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Bangkok,Thailand 15 December 1995". ASEAN. ASEAN Secretariat. http://www.asean.org/2082.htm. Retrieved 16 May 2012. 
45. ^ Scott Parrish, William C. Potter (8). "Central Asian States Establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone Despite U.S. Opposition" (in English) (Article). James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). http://cns.miis.edu/stories/060905.htm. Retrieved 16 May 2012. 
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50. ^ [1]

External links[link]

• National Counterproliferation Center - Office of the Director of National Intelligence
• UN - Disarmament Affairs
• Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
• Council for a Livable World
• Disarmament Insight initiative
• Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's Research on Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan in 2011
Born	Piers Stefan O'Meara (1965-03-30) 30 March 1965 (age 47) Guildford, Surrey, England[1]
Nationality	British
Education	Chailey School Preparatory School
Alma mater	Harlow College
Occupation	Broadcaster, panellist, journalist, talk show host
Years active	1985–present
Employer	South London News (1985–88) The Sun (1989–94) News of the World (1994–95) Daily Mirror (1995–2004)
Known for	Newspaper editing Television work
Height	6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m)[2]
Television	Britain's Got Talent America's Got Talent Winner of The Celebrity Apprentice The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan Piers Morgan On... Piers Morgan's Life Stories Piers Morgan Tonight
Spouse	Marion Shalloe (m. 1991–2008) «start: (1991)–end+1: (2009)»"Marriage: Marion Shalloe to Piers Morgan" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Piers_Morgan) (divorced) Celia Walden (m. 2010) «start: (2010-06-24)»"Marriage: Celia Walden to Piers Morgan" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Piers_Morgan)
Children	Spencer, Stanley, Albert
Parents	Eamon Vincent O'Meara (deceased) Gabrielle O'Meara
Website
www.officialpiersmorgan.com

Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (born Piers Stefan O'Meara; 30 March 1965), known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children.

Morgan branched into television mainly as a presenter, but has become best known as a judge or contestant in reality television programmes. In the UK, he was a judge on Britain's Got Talent. Morgan is best known in the United States as a judge on the show America's Got Talent, and as the winner of The Celebrity Apprentice. On 17 January 2011, he began hosting Piers Morgan Tonight for CNN in the timeslot previously occupied by Larry King Live after the retirement of host Larry King.^[3]

Morgan has authored eight books, including three volumes of memoirs.

Early life[link]

Piers Morgan was born on 30 March 1965, in Guildford, Surrey, England, to Eamon Vincent O'Meara, a dentist, of Dorking, Surrey,^[4] and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille (née Oliver).^[5] His father died when he was one year old; his mother subsequently remarried. He has three older siblings.^[6] His ancestry includes Irish, Portuguese, Scottish, and English.^[5][7] Morgan was raised Catholic.^[8] Named Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan by his stepfather, Morgan attended an independent school called Cumnor House^[9] from the ages of seven to thirteen, and then Chailey School, a comprehensive secondary school in Chailey, near Lewes, East Sussex, followed by Lewes Priory School for VI form.^[10] Morgan studied Journalism at Harlow College. After a brief career at Lloyds of London, he joined the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985,^[11] where he worked as a reporter on the South London News, and the Streatham and Tooting News. Morgan was recruited (he says headhunted by editor Kelvin MacKenzie) to join The Sun newspaper, specifically to work on the Bizarre column.

Career[link]

In newspapers[link]

Morgan's first major position in national media was as de facto editor of The Sun's show business column, Bizarre, under the editorship of Kelvin MacKenzie. In 1994, aged 28, he was appointed editor of News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, becoming the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century.^[12] He quickly gained notoriety for his invasive, thrusting style and lack of concern for celebrities' right to privacy, claiming that they could not manipulate the media to further their own ends without accepting the consequences of a two way deal. Morgan's autobiography The Insider states that he left the News of the World of his own choice and somewhat against owner Rupert Murdoch's wishes when he was offered the job of Editor at the Daily Mirror.

As editor of the Mirror, in 1996 Morgan was widely criticised and forced to apologise for the headline "Achtung! Surrender" a day before England met Germany in a semi-final of the Euro '96 football championships.^[13]

In 2000, he was the subject of an investigation after Suzy Jagger wrote a story in The Daily Telegraph revealing that he had bought £20,000 worth of shares in the computer company Viglen soon before the Mirror 's 'City Slickers' column tipped Viglen as a good buy.^[14] Morgan was found by the Press Complaints Commission to have breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, but kept his job. The 'City Slickers' columnists, Anil Bhoyrul and James Hipwell, were both found to have committed further breaches of the Code, and were sacked before the inquiry. In 2004, further enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry cleared Morgan from any charges.^[15] On 7 December 2005 Bhoyrul and Hipwell were convicted of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act. During the trial it emerged that Morgan had bought £67,000 worth of Viglen shares, emptying his bank account and investing under his wife's name too.^[16]

In 2002, the Mirror attempted to move mid-market, claiming to eschew the more trivial stories of show-business and gossip. Morgan rehired John Pilger, who had been sacked during Robert Maxwell's ownership of the Mirror titles. Despite such changes, Morgan was unable to halt the paper's decline in circulation, a decline shared by its direct tabloid rivals The Sun and the Daily Star.^{[citation needed]}

Morgan was fired from the Mirror on 14 May 2004 after authorising the newspaper's publication of photographs allegedly showing Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.^[17] Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. Under the headline "SORRY.. WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for the publication of the photographs.^[18]

In May 2005, in partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its 'cash cow' the British Press Awards, in a deal worth £1 million.^[19][20] This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards.^[21] Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006,^[22] before being sold to a trade buyer.

On 4 May 2006, Morgan launched First News, a weekly paper aimed at seven to fourteen-year-olds. Upon its launch Morgan claimed that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children",^[23] although this claim was without foundation: other newspapers aimed at young audiences have included The Boy's Newspaper (1880–1882), The Children's Newspaper (1919–1965), and Early Times (launched in the late 1980s). Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman".^[24]

In 2007, Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs. Simon Cowell and others made much of Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in the Daily Mail, after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway, that "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off, wouldn't you, Mr. President?"^[25][26][27]

In television[link]

Morgan's career has diversified in recent years into television presentation and proprietorship. In 2003, he presented a three-part television documentary series for the BBC titled The Importance of Being Famous, about fame and the manner in which celebrities are covered by modern media.

He has co-hosted his own current affairs interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, Morgan and Platell. Morgan and Platell were put together because of their opposing political angles. Platell would interrogate guests from the right-wing, Morgan from the left-wing.^[28] The show was dropped after three series allegedly because of poor viewing figures, though the chairman of Channel 4, Luke Johnson, was reported not to like the programme.

Throughout 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on the American television show America's Got Talent alongside Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff on NBC. Morgan was chosen by Simon Cowell as a replacement for himself because of the conditions of his American Idol contract. Morgan appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, to raise money for Comic Relief. During filming, he and Alastair Campbell reduced fellow contestant Trinny Woodall to tears when they tried to sabotage her team's event, and were involved in a brawl with her.^[29] Upon his team losing, Morgan was selected by Sir Alan Sugar as the contestant to be fired.^[30]

Also in 2007, he appeared as a judge for the second season of America's Got Talent and also appeared as a judge on the British version of the show, Britain's Got Talent on ITV1, alongside Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell. He also presented You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous on BBC One. In January 2008, Morgan fronted a three-part documentary about Sandbanks for ITV1^[31] entitled Piers Morgan on Sandbanks.^[32]

Morgan was the winner of the U.S. celebrity version of The Apprentice, in 2008. The most memorable feature of the programme was the rowdy disagreements he had with fellow contestant Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth. This was resolved in Morgan's favour on 6 March, after her team was defeated by Morgan's in the biggest margin of victory in Apprentice history. Morgan ended up the overall winner, being named Celebrity Apprentice on 27 March, ahead of fellow finalist, American country music star, Trace Adkins (whom he surprised by kissing him on the cheek just moments after an on-air spat with Stallworth) and having raised substantially more cash than all the other contestants combined.^[33]

In May 2008, Morgan signed a two year "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV reportedly worth £2 million per year. As part of the deal, Morgan would continue as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for at least two more series and front a new chat show. He will also make some interview specials, plus three more documentaries from various countries. Morgan's golden handcuffs deal is the first signing by ITV's new director of television, Peter Fincham.^[34]

On 8 September 2008, a new series started, The Dark Side of Fame with Piers Morgan, produced by BBC Scotland.

Morgan returned to ITV1 in February 2009, with the series, Piers Morgan On..., which saw him visit Dubai, Monte Carlo and Hollywood.^[35] The series positioned Morgan as a modern day Alan Whicker and received strong viewing figures for the channel.^[36] The programme returned for a second series in 2010^[37] when Morgan visited Las Vegas,^[38] Marbella,^[39] and Shanghai.^[40] In the Shanghai episode, broadcast on 29 June 2010, Morgan consumed foie gras in a restaurant and visited a Tesco store selling live terrapins. Since both foie gras production and live reptile sales are considered cruel, Morgan came under criticism on social networking sites, including Twitter.^[41] Ironically, any complaints on Twitter about China's animal cruelty record will not be visible in the communist country, since Twitter itself is banned there,^[42] as Morgan pointed out in the same programme.

In 2009 Morgan's show, Piers Morgan's Life Stories, began on ITV1 with Sharon Osbourne as the subject of the first episode.^[43] Other guests on the programme have included Cheryl Tweedy^[44] and the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.^[45]

On 8 September 2010, CNN announced Morgan would replace Larry King in the network's evening line-up, with his show Piers Morgan Tonight, beginning 17 January 2011.^[46][47] His show on CNN, Piers Morgan Tonight, has been described by Hank Stuever as "droning," "unnecessary," and "rubbish."^[48]

Feuds[link]

Ian Hislop[link]

Morgan appeared as a guest on the satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You in an episode transmitted on 24 May 1996.^[49] In it, show regular Ian Hislop and Morgan failed to keep their mutual contempt off-screen. Hislop accused Morgan of having him (Hislop) followed and having his house watched. The conflict escalated and at one point the host, Angus Deayton, asked if they wished to go outside and have a fight. Later on, guest panelist Clive Anderson confronted Morgan commenting "the last time I was rude to you, you sent photographers to my doorstep the next day", to which Piers Morgan retorted, "You won't see them this time." Hislop commented "He is charming isn't he", and Morgan replied, "Don't try the popularity line with me, Hislop", before appealing to the audience: "Does anyone actually like him?" The audience responded loudly in favour of Hislop.^[50] "'We're about to start exposing the moon-faced midget'", Morgan was quoted as saying in 2002, to which Hislop responded "'all he's been offering for information about my private life is a £50 reward. My friends think that's not nearly enough.'"^[51]

In 2007, Hislop chose Morgan as one of his pet hates on Room 101.^[52][53] In doing so, Hislop spoke of the history of animosity between himself and Morgan and revealed that after their exchange on Have I Got News For You (which was shown as a clip), Morgan's reporters were tasked with trying to get gossip on Hislop's private life (including phoning acquaintances of Hislop), and photographers were sent in case Hislop did anything untoward or embarrassing while in their presence. Neither the reporters nor the photographers succeeded. Hislop also revealed that Morgan had attempted to quell the feud in an article in The Mail On Sunday, saying, "The war is over. I'm officially calling an end to hostilities, at least from my end. I'm sure it won't stop him carrying on his 'Piers Moron' stuff."^[54] Hislop, who had been engaged in work on a First World War documentary at the time, responded by asking "Is that an armistice or an unconditional surrender?" Although the show's host Paul Merton agreed to put Morgan into Room 101, he was comically rejected as being "too toxic", even for Room 101.^[52][55]

Jeremy Clarkson[link]

In October 2003, journalist and television personality Jeremy Clarkson reportedly emptied a glass of water over Morgan during the last flight of Concorde.^[56] In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Morgan three times in a clash over The Mirror's coverage of his private life, and accusations that Clarkson did not write for his column in The Sun himself.^[56] Morgan reported on a rapprochement with Clarkson in the epilogue of his book, Don't You Know Who I Am?.

Madonna[link]

In December 2010, Morgan announced to the Daily Express that he will not be scheduling Madonna to appear on Piers Morgan Tonight. Morgan reportedly told the British newspaper that, while he wanted to get U.S. President Barack Obama and Mel Gibson on his show, he was not bothered about Madonna. Morgan said, "She is so boring. She is too vegan for TV. We have Lady Gaga now so Madonna is banned from my show.” In response, Madonna's publicist quipped, "Madonna doesn't know who Piers Morgan is but she's a big fan of Lady Gaga."^[57]

Alan Sugar[link]

In December 2010 Morgan had an ongoing Twitter argument with Alan Sugar, which resulted in a competition to see who could attract more followers by Christmas Day.^[58]

Phone hacking allegations[link]

In July 2011 the political blogger Paul Staines alleged that Morgan published a story while knowing it to have been obtained by phone hacking while editor of the Daily Mirror in 2002.^[59] Morgan is also alleged to have close ties with the Rupert Murdoch family and defended them in the media against suggestions that they were more involved in the News International phone hacking scandal than they claimed.^[60] Morgan described in a 2006 article he wrote for the Daily Mail how he had heard tapes of messages that Paul McCartney had left for his wife, Heather Mills, on her mobile phone. Morgan wrote that "Stories soon emerged that the marriage was in trouble - at one stage I was played a tape of a message Paul had left for Heather on her mobile phone. It was heartbreaking. The couple had clearly had a tiff, Heather had fled to India, and Paul was pleading with her to come back. He sounded lonely, miserable and desperate, and even sang "We Can Work It Out" into the answerphone."^[61] He came under criticism for his "boasting" about phone hacking from Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who has since apologised for these accusations.^[62]

During Morgan's tenure as editor, the Daily Mirror was advised by Steven Nott that voicemail interception was possible by means of a standard PIN code. Despite staff initially expressing enthusiasm for the story it did not appear in the paper, although it did subsequently feature in a South Wales Argus article and on BBC Radio 5 Live in October 1999. On 18 July 2011 Nott was visited by officers of Operation Weeting. The Daily Mirror's publishers Trinity Mirror declined to comment when approached by The Independent for its article of 6 August 2011.^[63]

On 20 December Morgan was a witness by satellite link from the United States at the Leveson Inquiry.^[64] While he did "not believe to the best of my recollection" that phone hacking had occurred at the Mirror, he admitted to listening to the voice mail left by Paul McCartney for Heather Mills, but refused to "discuss where he was played that tape or who played it - it would compromise a source."^[64] Appearing as a witness at the same Inquiry on 9 February 2012, Mills was asked under oath if she had ever made a recording of Paul McCartney's phonecalls or answerphone messages and had ever played it to Piers Morgan or "anybody else", she replied: "Never".^[65] Mills told the inquiry that Morgan was "a man that has written nothing but awful things about me for years and would have relished telling the inquiry if she had played a personal voicemail message to him".^[66]

On 23 May 2012, the Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was a witness at the Leveson Inquiry. He recalled a lunch with the Mirror editor in September 2002 at which Morgan outlined the means of hacking into a mobile phone.^[67]

Personal life[link]

Morgan married Marion Shalloe in July 1991 in Hampshire. They have three sons: Spencer William (born in 1993), Stanley Christopher (born in 1997) and Albert Douglas (Bertie) (born in 2000).^[68] Morgan and Shalloe divorced in 2008.^{[citation needed]} He was linked romantically to The Guardian columnist Marina Hyde, and his second wife is The Daily Telegraph's columnist and feature writer, Celia Walden,^[69] who is the daughter of the former Conservative MP George Walden.^[70] Morgan and Walden married in June 2010. On November 25, 2011, the Mail Online reported that Celia Walden gave birth to a baby girl at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Beverly Hills. It is her first child, while Morgan has become a father for the fourth time. The couple have named their daughter Elise.^[71]

Morgan is a lifelong fan of cricket. Corresponding with Sir Donald "Don" Bradman as a child, and being a promising early youthful fast bowler, he has played for his local side in Newick since 1978. Every year since 2000 he has organised a game between a Morgan family team and the Newick side, which includes a famous "ringer" - 2008's ringer was England batsman Kevin Pietersen. Morgan described the 2008 game as "the best day of my life."^[72] Morgan is also a fan of Arsenal F.C.^[73]

Books[link]

• Morgan, Piers; John Sachs (1991). Secret Lives. Blake. ISBN 0-905846-95-8. 
• Morgan, Piers; John Sachs (1991). Private Lives of the Stars. Angus and Robertson. ISBN 0-207-16941-1. 
• Morgan, Piers (1992). To Dream a Dream: Amazing Life of Phillip Schofield. Blake. ISBN 1-85782-006-1. 
• Morgan, Piers (1993). "Take That": Our Story. Boxtree. ISBN 1-85283-839-6. 
• Morgan, Piers (1994). "Take That": On the Road. Boxtree. ISBN 1-85283-396-3. 
• Morgan, Piers (2004). Va Va Voom!: A Year with Arsenal 2003-04. Methuen. ISBN 0-413-77451-1. 
• Morgan, Piers (2005). The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade. Ebury Press. ISBN ISBN 0-09-190849-3. 
• Morgan, Piers (2007). Don't You Know Who I am?. 
• Morgan, Piers (2009). God Bless America: Misadventures of a Big mouth Brit. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-191393-9. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• Piers Morgan's Official Website
• Profile: Piers Morgan BBC News, 14 May 2004
• Piers Morgan at the Internet Movie Database
• Piers Morgan on Twitter
• "Desert Island Discs". Desert Island Discs. 7 June 2009. BBC. Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00krkct. 

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