Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty and AI) is a non-governmental organisation focused on human rights with over 3 million members and supporters around the world. The objective of the organisation is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."^[3]

Amnesty International was founded in London in 1961, following the publication of the article "The Forgotten Prisoners" in The Observer 28 May 1961,^[4] by the lawyer Peter Benenson. Amnesty draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards. It works to mobilise public opinion to put pressure on governments that let abuse take place.^[3] The organisation was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its "campaign against torture",^[5] and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978.^[6]

In the field of international human rights organisations,^[7] Amnesty has the longest history and broadest name recognition, and "is believed by many to set standards for the movement as a whole."^[7]

History[link]

1960s[link]

Amnesty International was founded in London in July 1961 by English labour lawyer Peter Benenson.^[8] According to his own account, he was travelling in the London Underground on 19 November 1960, when he read of two Portuguese students from Coimbra who had been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment in Portugal for allegedly "having drunk a toast to liberty".^[a][9] Researchers have never traced the alleged newspaper article in question.^[a] In 1960, Portugal was ruled by the authoritarian Estado Novo regime.^[10] Anti-regime conspiracies were vigorously repressed by the Portuguese state police and deemed anti-Portuguese. In his significant newspaper article "The Forgotten Prisoners", Benenson later described his reaction as follows: "Open your newspaper any day of the week and you will find a story from somewhere of someone being imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government [...] The newspaper reader feels a sickening sense of impotence. Yet if these feelings of disgust could be united into common action, something effective could be done."^[11]

Benenson worked with friend Eric Baker. Baker was a member of the Religious Society of Friends who had been involved in funding the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament as well as becoming head of Quaker Peace and Social Witness, and in his memoirs Benenson described him as "a partner in the launching of the project".^[12] In consultation with other writers, academics and lawyers and, in particular, Alec Digges, they wrote via Louis Blom-Cooper to David Astor, editor of The Observer newspaper, who, on 28 May 1961, published Benenson's article "The Forgotten Prisoners". The article brought the reader's attention to those "imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government"^[11] or, put another way, to violations, by governments, of articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The article described these violations occurring, on a global scale, in the context of restrictions to press freedom, to political oppositions, to timely public trial before impartial courts, and to asylum. It marked the launch of "Appeal for Amnesty, 1961", the aim of which was to mobilise public opinion, quickly and widely, in defence of these individuals, whom Benenson named "Prisoners of Conscience". The "Appeal for Amnesty" was reprinted by a large number of international newspapers. In the same year Benenson had a book published, Persecution 1961, which detailed the cases of nine prisoners of conscience investigated and compiled by Benenson and Baker (Maurice Adin, Ashton Jones, Agostinho Neto, Patrick Duncan, Olga Ivinskaya, Luis Taruc, Constantin Noica, Antonio Amat and Hu Feng).^[13] In July 1961 the leadership had decided that the appeal would form the basis of a permanent organisation, which on 30 September 1962 was officially named 'Amnesty International'. Between the 'Appeal for Amnesty, 1961' and September 1962 the organisation had been known simply as 'Amnesty'.^[14]

What started as a short appeal soon became a permanent international movement working to protect those imprisoned for non-violent expression of their views and to secure worldwide recognition of Articles 18 and 19 of the UDHR. From the very beginning, research and campaigning were present in Amnesty International's work. A library was established for information about prisoners of conscience and a network of local groups, called 'THREES' groups, was started. Each group worked on behalf of three prisoners, one from each of the then three main ideological regions of the world: communist, capitalist and developing.

By the mid-1960s Amnesty International's global presence was growing and an International Secretariat and International Executive Committee was established to manage Amnesty International's national organisations, called 'Sections', which had appeared in several countries. The international movement was starting to agree on its core principles and techniques. For example, the issue of whether or not to adopt prisoners who had advocated violence, like Nelson Mandela, brought unanimous agreement that it could not give the name of 'Prisoner of Conscience' to such prisoners. Aside from the work of the library and groups, Amnesty International's activities were expanding to helping prisoner's families, sending observers to trials, making representations to governments, and finding asylum or overseas employment for prisoners. Its activity and influence was also increasing within intergovernmental organisations; it would be awarded consultative status by the United Nations, the Council of Europe and UNESCO before the decade ended.

1970s[link]

Leading Amnesty International in the 1970s were key figureheads Seán MacBride and Martin Ennals. While continuing to work for prisoners of conscience, Amnesty International's purview widened to include "fair trial" and opposition to long detention without trial (UDHR Article 9), and especially to the torture of prisoners (UDHR Article 5). Amnesty International believed that the reasons underlying torture of prisoners, by governments, were either to obtain information or to quell opposition by the use of terror, or both. Also of concern was the export of more sophisticated torture methods, equipment and teaching by the superpowers to "client states", for example by the United States through some activities of the CIA.

Amnesty International drew together reports from countries where torture allegations seemed most persistent and organised an international conference on torture. It sought to influence public opinion in order to put pressure on national governments by organising a campaign for the 'Abolition of Torture' which ran for several years.

Amnesty International's membership increased from 15,000 in 1969^[15] to 200,000 by 1979.^[16] This growth in resources enabled an expansion of its program, 'outside of the prison walls', to include work on "disappearances", the death penalty and the rights of refugees. A new technique, the 'Urgent Action', aimed at mobilising the membership into action rapidly was pioneered. The first was issued on 19 March 1973, on behalf of Luiz Basilio Rossi, a Brazilian academic, arrested for political reasons.

At the intergovernmental level Amnesty International pressed for application of the UN's Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and of existing humanitarian conventions; to secure ratifications of the two UN Covenants on Human Rights in 1976); and was instrumental in obtaining additional instruments and provisions forbidding its practice. Consultative status was granted at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 1972.

In 1976 Amnesty's British Section started a series of fund-raising events that came to be known as The Secret Policeman's Balls series. They were staged in London initially as comedy galas featuring what the Daily Telegraph called "the crème de la crème of the British comedy world"^[17] including members of comedy troupe Monty Python, and later expanded to also include performances by leading rock musicians. The series was created and developed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and entertainment industry executive Martin Lewis working closely with Amnesty staff members Peter Luff (Assistant Director of Amnesty 1974–1978) and subsequently with Peter Walker (Amnesty Fund-Raising Officer 1978–1982). Cleese, Lewis and Luff worked together on the first two shows (1976 and 1977). Cleese, Lewis and Walker worked together on the 1979 and 1981 shows, the first to carry what the Daily Telegraph described as the "rather brilliantly re-christened" Secret Policeman's Ball title.^[17]

The organisation was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its "campaign against torture"^[5] and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978.^[6]

1980s[link]

1986 Faroe postage stamp celebrating Amnesty's 25th anniversary – Painting by 11 year old Rannvá Kunoy

By 1980 Amnesty International was drawing more criticism from governments. The USSR alleged that Amnesty International conducted espionage, the Moroccan government denounced it as a defender of lawbreakers, and the Argentine government banned Amnesty International's 1983 annual report.^[18]

Throughout the 1980s, Amnesty International continued to campaign against torture, and on behalf of prisoners of conscience. New issues emerged, including extrajudicial killings, military, security and police transfers, political killings; and disappearances.

Towards the end of the decade, the growing numbers worldwide of refugees was a very visible area of Amnesty International's concern. While many of the world's refugees of the time had been displaced by war and famine, in adherence to its mandate, Amnesty International concentrated on those forced to flee because of the human rights violations it was seeking to prevent. It argued that rather than focusing on new restrictions on entry for asylum-seekers, governments were to address the human rights violations which were forcing people into exile.

Apart from a second campaign on torture during the first half of the decade, two major musical events occurred, designed to increase awareness of Amnesty and of human rights (particularly among younger generations) during the mid- to late-1980s. The 1986 Conspiracy of Hope tour, which played five concerts in the U.S., and culminated in a daylong show, featuring some thirty-odd acts at Giants Stadium, and the 1988 Human Rights Now! world tour. Human Rights Now!, which was timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), played a series of concerts on five continents over six weeks. Both tours featured some of the most famous musicians and bands of the day.

1990s[link]

Throughout the 1990s, Amnesty International continued to grow, to a membership of over 3 million in over 150 countries and territories,^[1] led by Senegalese Secretary General Pierre Sané. Amnesty continued to work on a wide range of issues and world events. For example, South African groups joined in 1992 and hosted a visit by Pierre Sané to meet with the apartheid government to press for an investigation into allegations of police abuse, an end to arms sales to the African Great Lakes region and the abolition of the death penalty. In particular, Amnesty International brought attention to violations committed on specific groups, including refugees, racial/ethnic/religious minorities, women and those executed or on Death Row. The death penalty report When the state kills (ISBN 978-0-691-10261-0) and the 'Human Rights are Women's Rights' campaign were key actions for the latter two issues. During the 1990s, Amnesty International was forced to react to human rights violations occurring in the context of a proliferation of armed conflict in Angola, East Timor, the Persian Gulf, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia. Amnesty International took no position on whether to support or oppose external military interventions in these armed conflicts. It did not (and does not) reject the use of force, even lethal force, or ask those engaged to lay down their arms. Instead, it questioned the motives behind external intervention and selectivity of international action in relation to the strategic interests of those sending troops. It argued that action should be taken to prevent human rights problems becoming human rights catastrophes, and that both intervention and inaction represented a failure of the international community.

Amnesty International was proactive in pushing for recognition of the universality of human rights. The campaign 'Get Up, Sign Up' marked 50 years of the UDHR. Thirteen million pledges were collected in support, and the Decl music concert was held in Paris on 10 December 1998 (Human Rights Day). At the intergovernmental level, Amnesty International argued in favour of creating an United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (established 1993) and an International Criminal Court (established 2002).

After his arrest in London in 1998 by the Metropolitan Police, Amnesty International became involved in the legal battle of Senator Pinochet, a former Chilean President, who sought to avoid extradition to Spain to face charges. Lord Hoffman had an indirect connection with Amnesty International, and this led to an important test for the appearance of bias in legal proceedings in UK law. There was a suit^[19] against the decision to release Senator Pinochet, taken by the then British Home Secretary Mr Jack Straw, before that decision had actually been taken, in an attempt to prevent the release of Senator Pinochet. The English High Court refused^[20] the application and Senator Pinochet was released and returned to Chile. This legal challenge was a novel attempt to use legal process to challenge a decision before it was taken and could be seen as hard to reconcile with the rule of law, as it was predicated on a presumption that the Home Secretary had erred in law whatever the reasons were for the decision.^{[citation needed]}

2000s[link]

After 2000, Amnesty International's agenda turned to the challenges arising from globalisation and the reaction to the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States. The issue of globalisation provoked a major shift in Amnesty International policy, as the scope of its work was widened to include economic, social and cultural rights, an area that it had declined to work on in the past. Amnesty International felt this shift was important, not just to give credence to its principle of the indivisibility of rights, but because of what it saw as the growing power of companies and the undermining of many nation states as a result of globalisation.^[21]

In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, the new Amnesty International Secretary General, Irene Khan, reported that a senior government official had said to Amnesty International delegates: "Your role collapsed with the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York".^[22] In the years following the attacks, some^[who?] believe that the gains made by human rights organisations over previous decades had possibly been eroded. Amnesty International argued that human rights were the basis for the security of all, not a barrier to it. Criticism came directly from the Bush administration and The Washington Post, when Khan, in 2005, likened the US government's detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a Soviet Gulag.^[23][24]

During the first half of the new decade, Amnesty International turned its attention to violence against women, controls on the world arms trade and concerns surrounding the effectiveness of the UN. With its membership close to two million by 2005,^[25] Amnesty continued to work for prisoners of conscience.

In 2007, the organisation appeared to endorse pro-choice for abortion.^[26] However, the organisation responded by saying that it had only done this for limited situations.^[27]

Amnesty International reported, concerning the Iraq war, on 17 March 2008, that despite claims the security situation in Iraq has improved in recent months, the human rights situation is disastrous, after the start of the war five years ago in 2003.^[28]

In 2008 Amnesty International launched a mobile donating campaign in the United States, which allows supporters to make $5 micro-donations by sending a text message to the short code 90999 with the keyword RIGHTS. Amnesty International's mobile fund raising campaign was created in partnership with Mgive and the Mobile Giving Foundation.^[29]

In 2009 Amnesty International accused Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement of committing war crimes during Israel's January offensive in Gaza, called Operation Cast Lead, that resulted in the deaths of more than 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.^[30] The 117-page Amnesty report charged Israeli forces with killing hundreds of civilians and wanton destruction of thousands of homes. Amnesty found no evidence of Palestinian militants using human shields to stop Israeli attacks. A subsequent United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict was carried out; Amnesty stated that its findings were consistent with those of Amnesty's own field investigation, and called on the UN to act promptly to implement the mission's recommendations.^[31]

2010s[link]

In February 2010, Amnesty suspended Gita Sahgal, its gender unit head, after she criticised Amnesty for its links with Moazzam Begg, Director of a campaign group called Cageprisoners. She had called the links "a gross error of judgment" that risked Amnesty's reputation on human rights, and said it was wrong to ally with "Britain's most famous supporter of the Taliban".^{[32][33][34][35]} Amnesty responded that Sahgal was not suspended "for raising these issues internally... [Begg] speaks about his own views ..., not Amnesty International's."^[36] Among those who spoke up for Saghal were Salman Rushdie ("Amnesty ... has done its reputation incalculable damage.... It looks very much as if Amnesty's leadership is suffering from a kind of moral bankruptcy, and has lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong"), Member of Parliament Denis MacShane, Joan Smith, Christopher Hitchens, Martin Bright, Melanie Phillips, and Nick Cohen.^{[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]}

In February 2011, Amnesty requested that Swiss authorities start a criminal investigation of former U.S. President George W. Bush and arrest him.^[45]

In July 2011, Amnesty International celebrated its 50 years with an animated short film directed by Carlos Lascano, produced by Eallin Motion Art and Dreamlife Studio, with music by Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer and nominee Lorne Balfe. The film shows that the fight for humanity is not yet over.^[46]

Principles[link]

A vital part of AI's mandate is the so-called "violence clause". It sets prisoners of conscience apart from the other categories of prisoners on whose behalf the movement works. If a prisoner is serving a sentence imposed, after a fair trial, for activities involving violence, AI will not ask the government to release the prisoner.

AI does not judge whether recourse to violence is justified or not. However, AI does not oppose the political use of violence in itself since The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in its preamble, foresees situations in which people could "be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression".

AI neither supports nor condemns the resort to violence by political opposition groups in itself, just as AI neither supports nor condemns a government policy of using military force in fighting against armed opposition movements. However, AI supports minimum humane standards that should be respected by governments and armed opposition groups alike. When an opposition group tortures or kills its captives, takes hostages, or commits deliberate and arbitrary killings, AI condemns these abuses.^{[47][dubious – discuss]}

Work[link]

Amnesty International primarily targets governments, but also reports on non-governmental bodies and private individuals ("non-state actors").

There are six key areas which Amnesty deals with:

• Women's, children's, minorities' and indigenous rights
• Ending torture
• Abolition of the death penalty
• Rights of refugees
• Rights of prisoners of conscience
• Protection of human dignity.

Some specific aims are to: abolish the death penalty, end extra judicial executions and "disappearances," ensure prison conditions meet international human rights standards, ensure prompt and fair trial for all political prisoners, ensure free education to all children worldwide, decriminalise abortion,^[48] fight impunity from systems of justice, end the recruitment and use of child soldiers, free all prisoners of conscience, promote economic, social and cultural rights for marginalised communities, protect human rights defenders, promote religious tolerance, protect LGBT rights,^[49] stop torture and ill-treatment, stop unlawful killings in armed conflict, uphold the rights of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers, and protect human dignity.

To further these aims, Amnesty International has developed several techniques to publicise information and mobilise public opinion. The organisation considers as one of its strengths the publication of impartial and accurate reports. Reports are researched by: interviewing victims and officials, observing trials, working with local human rights activists, and monitoring the media. It aims to issue timely press releases and publishes information in newsletters and on web sites. It also sends official missions to countries to make courteous but insistent inquiries.

Campaigns to mobilise public opinion can take the form of individual, country, or thematic campaigns. Many techniques are deployed, such as direct appeals (for example, letter writing), media and publicity work, and public demonstrations. Often, fund-raising is integrated with campaigning.

In situations which require immediate attention, Amnesty International calls on existing urgent action networks or crisis response networks; for all other matters, it calls on its membership. It considers the large size of its human resources to be another of its key strengths.

The role of Amnesty International has an immense impact on getting citizens onboard with focusing on human rights issues. These groups influence countries and governments to give their people justice with pressure and in man power. An example of Amnesty International's work, which began in the 1960s, is writing letters to free imprisoned people that were put there for non-violent expressions. The group now has power, attends sessions, and became a source of information for the U.N. The increase in participation of non-governmental organisations changes how we live today. Felix Dodds states in a recent document that, "In 1972 there were 39 democratic countries in the world; by 2002, there were 139." This shows that non-governmental organisations make enormous leaps within a short period of time for human rights.

Country focus[link]

Amnesty reports disproportionately on relatively more democratic and open countries,^[50] arguing that its intention is not to produce a range of reports which statistically represents the world's human rights abuses, but rather to apply the pressure of public opinion to encourage improvements. The demonstration effect of the behaviour of both key Western governments and major non-Western states is an important factor: as one former Amnesty Secretary-General pointed out, "for many countries and a large number of people, the United States is a model," and according to one Amnesty manager, "large countries influence small countries."^[7] In addition, with the end of the Cold War, Amnesty felt that a greater emphasis on human rights in the North was needed to improve its credibility with its Southern critics by demonstrating its willingness to report on human rights issues in a truly global manner.^[7]

According to one academic study, as a result of these considerations the frequency of Amnesty's reports is influenced by a number of factors, besides the frequency and severity of human rights abuses. For example, Amnesty reports significantly more (than predicted by human rights abuses) on more economically powerful states; and on countries which receive US military aid, on the basis that this Western complicity in abuses increases the likelihood of public pressure being able to make a difference.^[7] In addition, around 1993–94, Amnesty consciously developed its media relations, producing fewer background reports and more press releases, to increase the impact of its reports. Press releases are partly driven by news coverage, to use existing news coverage as leverage to discuss Amnesty's human rights concerns. This increases Amnesty's focus on the countries the media is more interested in.^[7]

Amnesty's country focus is similar to that of some other comparable NGOs, notably Human Rights Watch: between 1991 and 2000, Amnesty and HRW shared eight of ten countries in their "top ten" (by Amnesty press releases; 7 for Amnesty reports).^[7] In addition, six of the 10 countries most reported on by Human Rights Watch in the 1990s also made The Economist's and Newsweek's "most covered" lists during that time.^[7]

Artists For Amnesty[link]

Amnesty International, through its "Artists For Amnesty" program has also endorsed various cultural media works for what its leadership often consider accurate or educational treatments of real-world topics which fall within the range of Amnesty's concern:

• A is for Auschwitz
• At the Death House Door
• Blood Diamond^[51]
• Bordertown
• Catch a Fire
• In Prison My Whole Life
• Invictus
• Lord of War
• Rendition
• The Constant Gardener
• Tibet: Beyond Fear
• Trouble the Water

Organisation[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Amnesty International Sections, 2005

The Amnesty Canadian headquarters in Ottawa.

Amnesty International is largely made up of voluntary members, but retains a small number of paid professionals. In countries in which Amnesty International has a strong presence, members are organised as 'sections'. Sections coordinate basic Amnesty International activities normally with a significant number of members, some of whom will form into 'groups', and a professional staff. Each have a board of directors. In 2005 there were 52 sections worldwide. 'Structures' are aspiring sections. They also coordinate basic activities but have a smaller membership and a limited staff. In countries where no section or structure exists, people can become 'international members'. Two other organisational models exist: 'international networks', which promote specific themes or have a specific identity, and 'affiliated groups', which do the same work as section groups, but in isolation.

The organisations outlined above are represented by the International Council (IC) which is led by the IC Chairperson. Members of sections and structures have the right to appoint one or more representatives to the Council according to the size of their membership. The IC may invite representatives from International Networks and other individuals to meetings, but only representatives from sections and structures have voting rights. The function of the IC is to appoint and hold accountable internal governing bodies and to determine the direction of the movement. The IC convenes every two years.

The International Executive Committee (IEC), led by the IEC Chairperson, consists of eight members and the IEC Treasurer. It is elected by, and represents, the IC and meets biannually. The role of the IEC is to take decisions on behalf of Amnesty International, implement the strategy laid out by the IC, and ensure compliance with the organisation's statutes.

The International Secretariat (IS) is responsible for the conduct and daily affairs of Amnesty International under direction from the IEC and IC. It is run by approximately 500 professional staff members and is headed by a Secretary General. The IS operates several work programmes; International Law and Organisations; Research; Campaigns; Mobilisation; and Communications. Its offices have been located in London since its establishment in the mid-1960s.

Amnesty International is financed largely by fees and donations from its worldwide membership. It does not accept donations from governments or governmental organisations.

• Amnesty International Sections, 2005
  Algeria; Argentina; Australia; Austria; Belgium (Dutch speaking); Belgium (French speaking); Benin; Bermuda; Canada (English speaking); Canada (French speaking); Chile; Côte d'Ivoire; Denmark; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Guyana; Hong Kong; Iceland; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Korea (Republic of); Luxembourg; Mauritius; Mexico; Morocco; Nepal; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan; Togo; Tunisia; United Kingdom; United States of America; Uruguay; Venezuela

• Amnesty International Structures, 2005
  Belarus; Bolivia; Burkina Faso; Croatia; Curaçao; Czech Republic; Gambia; Hungary; Malaysia; Mali; Moldova; Mongolia; Pakistan; Paraguay; Slovakia; South Africa; Thailand; Turkey; Ukraine; Zambia; Zimbabwe

• IEC Chairpersons
  Seán MacBride, 1965–1974; Dirk Börner, 1974–1977; Thomas Hammarberg, 1977–1979; José Zalaquett, 1979–1982; Suriya Wickremasinghe, 1982–1985; Wolfgang Heinz, 1985–1996; Franca Sciuto, 1986–1989; Peter Duffy, 1989–1991; Annette Fischer, 1991–1992; Ross Daniels, 1993–1997; Susan Waltz, 1996–1998; Mahmoud Ben Romdhane, 1999–2000; Colm O Cuanachain, 2001–2002; Paul Hoffman, 2003–2004; Jaap Jacobson, 2005; Hanna Roberts, 2005–2006; Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You, 2006–2007; Peter Pack, 2007–present

• Secretaries General"

Secretary General	Office	Origin
Peter Benenson Peter Benenson	1961–1966	Britain
Eric Baker Eric Baker	1966–1968	Britain
Martin Ennals Martin Ennals	1968–1980	Britain
Thomas Hammarberg Thomas Hammarberg	1980–1986	Sweden
Avery Brundage Ian Martin	1986–1992	Britain
Pierre Sané Pierre Sané	1992–2001	Senegal
Irene Zubaida Khan Irene Khan	2001–2010	Bangladesh
Salil Shetty Salil Shetty	2010 – currently	India

Criticism[link]

Criticism of Amnesty International includes claims of excessive pay for management, underprotection of overseas staff, associating with organisations with a dubious record on human rights protection, selection bias, ideological/foreign policy bias against either non-Western countries^[52] or Western-supported countries, criticism of Amnesty's policies relating to abortion,^[53] assertion that "defensive jihad" is not antithetical to human rights,^[54] and organisational continuity.^[52][55] Governments who have criticised Amnesty include those of Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,^[56] the People's Republic of China,^[57] Vietnam,^[58] Russia^[59] and the United States,^[60] for what they assert is one-sided reporting or a failure to treat threats to security as a mitigating factor. The actions of these governments—and of other governments critical of Amnesty International—have been the subject of human rights concerns voiced by Amnesty. As of February 2011, Amnesty is engaged in a dispute with the British union Unite over Amnesty allegedly attempting to de-recognize some of its foreign-based workers' rights.^[61]

Pay Controversy[link]

In February 2011, newspaper stories in the UK revealed that Irene Khan had received a payment of UK £533,103 from Amnesty International following her resignation from the organisation on 31 December 2009,^[62] a fact pointed to from Amnesty's records for the 2009–2010 financial year. The sum paid to her was in excess of four times her annual salary of £132,490.^[62] The deputy secretary general, Kate Gilmore – who also resigned in December 2009 – received an ex-gratia payment of £320,000.^[62][63] Peter Pack, the chairman of Amnesty's international executive committee, initially stated on 19 February 2011, "The payments to outgoing secretary general Irene Khan shown in the accounts of AI (Amnesty International) Ltd for the year ending 31 March 2010 include payments made as part of a confidential agreement between AI Ltd and Irene Khan."^[63] and that "It is a term of this agreement that no further comment on it will be made by either party."^[62]

The payment and AI's initial response to its leakage to the press led to considerable outcry. Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, decried the payment, telling the Daily Express, "I am sure people making donations to Amnesty, in the belief they are alleviating poverty, never dreamed they were subsidising a fat cat payout. This will disillusion many benefactors."^[63] On 21 February Peter Pack issued a further statement, in which he said that the payment was a "unique situation" that was "in the best interest of Amnesty's work" and that there would be no repetition of it.^[62] He stated that "the new secretary general, with the full support of the IEC, has initiated a process to review our employment policies and procedures to ensure that such a situation does not happen again."^[62] Pack also stated that Amnesty was "fully committed to applying all the resources that we receive from our millions of supporters to the fight for human rights".^[62] On 25 February, Pack issued a more complete statement intended for internal circulation among Amnesty members and staff. This in turn was been made public by Amnesty International Netherlands^[64] and Amnesty International Canada.^[65] In summary, it states that Amnesty's International Executive Committee (IEC) in 2008 had decided not to prolong Khan's contract for a third term. In the following months, IEC discovered that due to British employment law, it had to choose between the three options of either offering Khan a third term, discontinuing her post and potentially risking legal consequences, or signing a confidential agreement and issuing a pay compensation.

See also[link]

• International Secretariat of Amnesty International
• 100 Days Campaign
• The Secret Policeman's Balls

Notes[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Amnesty International (2005). Amnesty International Report 2006: The State of the World's Human Rights. Amnesty International. ISBN 978-0-86210-369-9. 
• Clarke, Anne Marie (2001). Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-05743-9. 
• Hopgood, Stephen (2006). Keepers of the Flame: Understanding Amnesty International. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4402-9. 
• Power, Jonathan (1981). Amnesty International: The Human Rights Story. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-08-028902-1. 
• Sellars, Kirsten (April 2002). The Rise and Rise of Human Rights. Sutton Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7509-2755-0. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international

• Amnesty International official site
• Is Amnesty International Biased?, 2002 discussion by Dennis Bernstein and Dr. Francis Boyle
• Amnesty International Head Irene Khan on The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights – video by Democracy Now!
• Amnesty International Promotion to Eliminate the Death Penalty – video by TBWA/Paris and Pleix for Amnesty International France
• Thought Economics Interview with Amnesty Interview with Widney Brown (Senior Director of International Law and Policy for Amnesty International) on the concept of Justice.

Sir Patrick Stewart OBE
Stewart at the 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon 2012
Born	Patrick Stewart[1] (1940-07-13) 13 July 1940 (age 71)[2] Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959—present
Influenced by	Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ian Richardson and Ian Holm[3]
Spouse	Sheila Falconer (1966–90) Wendy Neuss (2000–03)
Website
patrickstewart.org

Sir Patrick Stewart, OBE (born 13 July 1940) is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television. He is most widely known for his television and film roles, such as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and its successor films, Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series, and as the voice of Avery Bullock in American Dad!.

Early life[link]

Stewart was born on 13 July 1940^[2] in Mirfield,^[4] near Dewsbury in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He is the son of Gladys (née Barrowclough), a weaver and textile worker, and Alfred Stewart, a Regimental Sergeant Major in the British Army who served with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and previously worked as a general labourer and as a postman.^[5]

In a 2008 interview, Stewart said: "My father was a very potent individual, a very powerful man who got what he wanted. It was said that when he strode onto the parade ground, birds stopped singing. It was many, many years before I realised how my father inserted himself into my work. I've grown a moustache for Macbeth. My father didn't have one, but when I looked in the mirror just before I went on stage I saw my father's face staring straight back at me."^[3]

Stewart grew up in a poor household rife with domestic violence from his father, an experience which influenced his later political and ideological beliefs.^[6] In 2006, Stewart made a short video against domestic violence for Amnesty International, in which he recollected his father's physical attacks on his mother and the effect it had on him as a child, and he has given his name to a scholarship at the University of Huddersfield, where he is Chancellor, to fund post-graduate study into domestic violence.^[7][8] His childhood experiences also led him to become the patron of Refuge, a UK charity for abused women.^[9] In October 2011 he presented a BBC Lifeline Appeal on behalf of Refuge, talking about his own experience of domestic violence and interviewing a woman whose daughter was murdered by her ex-husband. ^[10]

Stewart attended Crowlees Church of England Junior and Infants School.^[12] He attributes his acting career to an English teacher named Cecil Dormand who "put a copy of Shakespeare in my hand [and] said, 'Now get up on your feet and perform'".^[13] In 1951, aged 11, he entered Mirfield Secondary Modern School (now Mirfield Free Grammar School),^[14] where he continued to study drama. At age 15, Stewart dropped out of school and increased his participation in local theatre. He acquired a job as a newspaper reporter and obituary writer,^[15] but after a year, his employer gave him an ultimatum to choose acting or journalism.^[16] He quit the job. His brother tells the story that Stewart would attend rehearsals during work time and then invent the stories he reported. Stewart also trained as a boxer.^[15]

Career[link]

Early works[link]

Following a period with Manchester's Library Theatre, he became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966, staying with them until 1982. He was as an Associate Artist of the company in 1968.^[17] He appeared next to actors such as Ben Kingsley and Ian Richardson. In January 1967, he made his debut TV appearance on Coronation Street as a Fire Officer. In 1969, he had a brief TV cameo role as Horatio, opposite Ian Richardson's Hamlet, in a performance of the gravedigger scene as part of episode six of Sir Kenneth Clark's Civilisation television series.^[18] He made his Broadway debut as Snout in Peter Brook's legendary^[19] production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, then moved to the Royal National Theatre in the early 1980s. Over the years, Stewart took roles in many major television series without ever becoming a household name. He appeared as Lenin in Fall of Eagles; Sejanus in I, Claudius;^[20] Karla in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People; Claudius in a 1980 BBC adaptation of Hamlet. He even took the romantic male lead in the 1975 BBC adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's North and South (wearing a hairpiece). He also took the lead, playing Psychiatric Consultant Dr. Edward Roebuck in a BBC TV series called Maybury in 1981.

He also had minor roles in several films such as King Leondegrance in John Boorman's Excalibur (1981),^[20] the character Gurney Halleck in David Lynch's 1984 film version of Dune^[20] and Dr. Armstrong in Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce (1985).

While not wealthy, Stewart had a comfortable lifestyle as an actor; however, he found that despite a lengthy career, his reputation was not great enough to bring a production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to West End theatre. Stewart thus in 1987 agreed to work in Hollywood, after Robert H. Justman, producer for a revival of a long-cancelled television show, saw him while attending a literary reading at UCLA.^[21][22] Stewart knew nothing about the original show, Star Trek, or its iconic status in American culture. He was reluctant to sign the standard contract of six years, but did so as he believed that the new show would quickly fail and he would return to his London stage career after making some money.^[23][24][25]

[edit] Star Trek: The Next Generation

When Stewart began his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–94) the Los Angeles Times called him an unknown British Shakespearean actor. Stewart was unprepared for the long hours of television production,^[25] had difficulty in fitting in with his less-disciplined castmates,^[23] and his "spirits used to sink" when required to memorise and recite Treknobabble.^[25] He came to better understand the cultural differences between the stage and television, remains close friends with his fellow Star Trek actors,^[23] and his favourite technical line became "space-time continuum".^[25] Marina Sirtis credited Stewart with "at least 50%, if not more" of the show's success because others emulated his professionalism and dedication to acting.^[26]

Besides making him immediately wealthy due to the show's great success^[24]—Stewart calculated during one break during filming the show that he made more money during that break than from 10 weeks of Woolf in London^[21]—Stewart received a 1995 Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series". From 1994 to 2002, he also portrayed Picard in the films Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek Nemesis (2002); and in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's pilot episode "Emissary".

When asked in 2011 for the highlight of his career, he chose Star Trek: The Next Generation, "because it changed everything [for me]."^[27] He has also said he is very proud of his work on Star Trek: The Next Generation, for its social message and educational impact on young viewers. On being questioned about the significance of his role compared to his distinguished Shakespearean career, Stewart has said that

The fact is all of those years in Royal Shakespeare Company – playing all those kings, emperors, princes and tragic heroes – were nothing but preparation for sitting in the captain's chair of the Enterprise.^[28]

The accolades Stewart has received include the readers of TV Guide in 1992 choosing him with Cindy Crawford, of whom he had never heard, as television's "most bodacious" man and woman.^[11][29] Stewart considered this an unusual distinction considering his age and baldness.^[30] In an interview with Michael Parkinson, he expressed gratitude for Gene Roddenberry's riposte to a reporter who said, "Surely they would have cured baldness by the 24th century," to which Roddenberry replied, "In the 24th century, they wouldn't care."^[31][32]

Other notable works[link]

Film and television[link]

Stewart has said that he would never have joined The Next Generation had he known that it would air for seven years:^[25]

No, no. NO. And looking back now it still frightens me a little bit to think that so much of my life was totally devoted to Star Trek and almost nothing else.^[25]

Stewart became so typecast as Picard that he has found obtaining other Hollywood roles difficult. The main exception is the X-Men film series. The films' success has resulted in another lucrative regular genre role in a major superhero film series. Stewart's character, Charles Xavier, is very similar to Picard and himself; "a grand, deep-voiced, bald English guy".^[24] He has also since voiced the role in three video games, X-Men Legends, X-Men Legends II and X-Men: Next Dimension. Other film and television roles include the flamboyantly gay Sterling in the 1995 film Jeffrey and King Henry II in The Lion in Winter, for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance and an Emmy Award nomination for executive-producing the film. He portrayed Captain Ahab in the 1998 made-for-television film version of Moby Dick, receiving Emmy Award^[33] and Golden Globe Award nominations for his performance. He also starred as Scrooge in a 1999 television film version, receiving a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his performance.

In late 2003, during the eleventh and final season of NBC's Frasier, Stewart appeared on the show as a gay Seattle socialite and Opera director who mistakes Frasier for a potential lover. In July 2003, he appeared in Series 02 (Episode 09) of Top Gear in the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment. He achieved 1:50 in the Liana. In 2005, he was cast as Professor Ian Hood in an ITV thriller 4-episode series Eleventh Hour, created by Stephen Gallagher. The first episode was broadcast on 19 January 2006. He also, in 2005, played Captain Nemo in a two part adaptation of The Mysterious Island. Stewart also appeared as a nudity obsessed caricature of himself in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's television series Extras, as a last-minute replacement for Jude Law. For playing himself, he was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2006 for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.^[34]

Stewart is a fairly frequent guest voice on FoX's animated comedy, Family Guy, appearing with the rest of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the episode "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven," and has appeared on several other occasions, often voicing himself, but occasionally voicing other characters.

In 2011, Stewart appeared in the feature length documentary The Captains alongside William Shatner, who also wrote and directed the film. In the film, Shatner interviews actors who have portrayed captains within the Star Trek franchise. The film pays a great deal of attention to Shatner's interviews with Stewart at his home in Oxfordshire as well as at a Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada; Stewart reveals the fear and personal failings that came along with his tenure as a Starfleet captain, but also the great triumphs he believes accompanied his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.^[35]

Stage[link]

After The Next Generation began, Stewart soon found that he missed acting on the stage.^[24] Although he remained associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the lengthy filming for the show prevented Stewart from participating in most other works. He instead began writing one-man shows that he performed in California universities and acting schools. Stewart found that one—a version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol in which he portrayed all 40-plus characters—was ideal for him because of its limited performing schedule.^[36] In 1991, Stewart performed it on Broadway,^[24] receiving a nomination for that year's Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show.^[37] He staged encore performances in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, again for the benefit of survivors and victims' families in the 11 September attacks, and a 23-day run in London's West End in December 2005. For his performances in this play, Stewart has received the Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance in 1992 and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment for Solo Performance in 1994. He was also the co-producer of the show, through the company he set up for the purpose: Camm Lane Productions, a reference to his birthplace in Camm Lane, Mirfield.

Shakespeare roles during this period included Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest, on Broadway in 1995, a role he would reprise in Rupert Goold's 2006 production of The Tempest as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Complete Works Festival.^[38] In 1997, he took the role of Othello with the Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.) in a race-bending performance, in a "photo negative" production of a white Othello with an otherwise all-black cast. Stewart had wanted to play the title role since the age of 14, so he and director Jude Kelly inverted the play so Othello became a comment on a white man entering a black society.^[39][40]

His years in the United States had left Stewart a "gaping hole in his CV" for a Shakespearean actor, as he had missed the opportunity to play such notable roles as Hamlet, Romeo, and Richard III.^[24][23] He played Antony again opposite Harriet Walter's Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Novello Theatre in London in 2007 to excellent reviews.^[23] During this period, Stewart also addressed the Durham Union Society on his life in film and theatre. When Stewart began playing Macbeth in the West End in 2007, some said that he was too old for the role; however, he and the show again received excellent reviews, with one critic calling Stewart "one of our finest Shakespearean actors".^[24][23]

He was named as the next Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre based at St Catherine's College, Oxford in January 2007.^[41] In 2008, Stewart played King Claudius in Hamlet alongside David Tennant. He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for the part. When collecting his award, he dedicated the award "in part" to Tennant and Tennant's understudy Edward Bennett, after Tennant's back injury and subsequent absence from four weeks of Hamlet disqualified him from an Olivier nomination.^[42] Stewart has expressed interest in appearing in Doctor Who.^[43]

In 2009, Stewart appeared alongside Ian McKellen as the lead duo of Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), in Waiting for Godot. Stewart had previously only appeared once alongside McKellen on stage, but the pair had developed a close friendship while waiting around on set filming the X-Men films.^[44] Stewart stated that performing in this play was the fulfilment of a 50 year ambition, having seen Peter O'Toole appear in it at the Bristol Old Vic while Stewart was just 17.^[44] Reviewers stated that his interpretation captured well the balance between humour and despair that characterises the work.^[45]

Voice acting[link]

Known for his strong and authoritative voice, Stewart has lent his voice to a number of projects. He has narrated recordings of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, C. S. Lewis's The Last Battle (conclusion of the series The Chronicles of Narnia), Rick Wakeman's Return to the Centre of the Earth; as well as numerous TV programs such as High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman. Stewart provided the narration for Nine Worlds, an astronomical tour of the solar system and nature documentaries such as The Secret of Life on Earth^[46] and Mountain Gorilla.^[47] He is also heard as the voice of the Magic Mirror in Disneyland's live show, Snow White – An Enchanting Musical. He also was the narrator for the American release of Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real. He is narrator for two fulldome video shows produced and distributed by Loch Ness Productions, called MarsQuest and The Voyager Encounters.

He also was a voice actor on the animated films The Prince of Egypt, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Chicken Little, The Pagemaster, and on the English dubbings of the Japanese anime films Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki and Steamboy. He voiced the pig Napoleon in a TV adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm and guest starred in the Simpsons episode "Homer the Great" as Number One. Patrick also narrated the prologue and epilogue for the Disney's Nightmare Before Christmas, which also appears on the film's soundtrack. He was originally going to do the voice for Jafar in Aladdin, but couldn't finish due to scheduling conflicts. He said in interviews that not voicing Jafar was the biggest mistake in his career.

More recently, he has played a recurring role as CIA Deputy Director Avery Bullock, lending his likeness as well as his voice on the animated series American Dad! as well as making (as of 6 August 2011) eight guest appearances on Family Guy in various roles: first in "Peter's Got Woods", second in "No Meals on Wheels" when Peter likens something to when he once swapped voices with him for a day, third in "Lois Kills Stewie" as his American Dad! character Bullock, fourth in "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" as himself, fifth in "And Then There Were Fewer" as a cat that proclaims himself a professor, sixth in "Halloween on Spooner Street as Dick Pump, seventh in "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair" as Susie Swanson and eighth in the DVD version of It's A Trap! as Captain Picard. In 2006, Stewart voiced Bambi's father, the Great Prince of the Forest in Disney's direct-to-video sequel, Bambi II.

He lent his voice to the Activision-produced Star Trek computer games Star Trek: Armada, Armada II, Star Trek: Starfleet Command III, Star Trek: Invasion, Bridge Commander, and Elite Force II, all reprising his role as Captain Picard. Stewart reprised his role as Picard in Star Trek: Legacy for both PC and Xbox 360, along with the four other 'major' Starfleet captains from the different Star Trek series.

In addition to voicing his characters from Star Trek and X-Men in several related computer and video games, Stewart worked as a voice actor on games unrelated to both franchises, such as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for which in 2006 he won a Spike TV Video Game Award for his work as Emperor Uriel Septim. He also lent his voice to several editions of the Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia.

His voice talents also appeared in a number of commercials including the UK TV Adverts for Domestos 5x Longer Bleach and Moneysupermarket.com, an advertisement for Shell fuel, and an American advertisement for the prescription drug Crestor. He also voiced the UK and Australian TV advertisements for the PAL version of Final Fantasy XII.^[48]

Stewart used his voice for Pontiac and Porsche cars and MasterCard Gold commercials in 1996, and Goodyear Assurance Tyres in 2004. He also did voice-overs for RCA televisions. He provided the voice of Max Winters in TMNT in March 2007. In 2008, he is also the voice of television advertisements for Currys and Stella Artois beer. In 2010, he is the voice in television advertisements for National Car Rental.^[49]

He voiced the narrator of the Electronic Arts computer game, The Sims Medieval, for the game's introduction cinematic and trailer released on 22 March 2011.^[50] He also voiced the story plaques and trailer of the MMOG LEGO Universe.

Personal life[link]

Stewart at the 2010 Metropolitan Opera's opening night of Das Rheingold

Stewart and his first wife, Sheila Falconer, have two children: Daniel Stewart and Sophie Alexandra.^[51] Stewart and Falconer divorced in 1990.^[52] In 1997, he became engaged to Wendy Neuss, one of the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and they married on 25 August 2000, divorcing three years later.^{[52][n 1]} Four months prior to his divorce from Neuss, Stewart played opposite actress Lisa Dillon in a production of The Master Builder, and the two were romantically involved until 2007.^[53][54]

Having lived in Los Angeles for many years, Stewart moved back to England in 2004. In an interview with the BBC's Gavin Esler, he said this was because he was homesick and because he wanted to return to work in the theatre.^[6] In the same year, Stewart was appointed as Chancellor^[55] of the University of Huddersfield and subsequently as a Professor of Performing Arts in July 2008. In spite of his hectic acting schedule, Stewart takes his university role seriously and regularly attends graduation ceremonies in the UK and Hong Kong, as well as teaching master classes for drama students during his visits.^[56] Stewart was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours list, after receiving which he said, "I'm very touched and very pleased with this and it was a delightful morning."^[57] Stewart was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to drama.^[58][59] He acknowledged the "unlooked-for honour" and paid tribute to his former English teacher who encouraged him to perform.^[13]

His politics are rooted in his belief in fairness and equality.^[6] He considers himself a social democrat and is a member of the Labour Party.^[60][61] He stated, "My father was a very strong trade unionist and those fundamental issues of Labour were ingrained into me."^[60] He has been critical of the Iraq War and recent UK government legislation in the area of civil liberties, in particular, its plans to extend detention without charge to 42 days. He signed an open letter of objection to this proposal in March 2008.^[62] Stewart identifies himself as a feminist.^[63] Additionally, he has publicly advocated for the right to assisted suicide.^[64]

Stewart is president of Huddersfield Town Academy, the local football club's project for identifying and developing young talent. He is a lifelong supporter of the club.^[65] In an interview with American Theatre, Stewart was asked if he could be something other than an actor, what would he be. He stated "From time to time, I have fantasies of becoming a concert pianist. I've been lucky enough through the years to work very closely with the great Emanuel Ax. I've said to him that if I could switch places with anyone it would be with him."^[3]. Stewart is also something of a petrol-head; has an MSA Competition Licence and is competing in the 2012 Silverstone Classic Celebrity Challenge race.

Stewart's son Daniel is a television actor,^[66] and has appeared alongside his father in the 1993 made for television film Death Train, and the 1992 Star Trek episode "The Inner Light" playing his son.^{[n 2]}

In July 2011 Stewart received an honourary doctorate of letters from the University of East Anglia.^[67][68]

Theatrical performances[link]

Patrick Stewart signing autographs following a production of Hamlet at the RSC in July 2008

The Royal Shakespeare Company[link]

Stewart has been a prolific actor in performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in more than 60 productions.^[69] His first appearance was in 1966 in The Investigation and in the years that followed he became a core member of the company, taking on three or four major roles each season.^[70] In 2008, he played Claudius in Hamlet. His most recent role there was in spring 2011, when he played Shylock in Rupert Goold's avant garde production of The Merchant of Venice.

Other[link]

This section may need to be updated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished. Please see the talk page for more information. (January 2011)

• 1995: Played Prospero in The Tempest for the New York Shakespeare Festival, with the production later transferring to Broadway.
• 1997: The Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.), Stewart in a race-bending performance,^[39] in a "photo negative" production of a white Othello with an otherwise all-black cast.^[40][71]
• 2000: On 9 April 2000, Stewart opened in Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mt. Morgan at the Broadway Ambassador Theatre. Lukewarm reviews and poor box office convinced the producers (including the Shubert Organisation) to post a closing notice and, in memorably impassioned Saturday matinée and evening curtain speeches, Stewart accused them of not being supportive, stating "Arthur Miller and I no longer have confidence in our producers' commitment to promote and publicise this extraordinarily provocative and vastly entertaining play."^[72] They subsequently took the matter to Actors Equity, which ruled that Stewart had to apologise publicly for his outburst.
• 2001: Played George in Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Guthrie in Minneapolis. Also portrayed Robert Johnson in J.B. Priestley's play Johnson Over Jordan at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.
• 2003: Played the lead role of Halvard Solness in Henrik Ibsen's play The Master Builder at the Albery Theatre, London. Portrayed Davies in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker in Broadway's American Airlines Theatre^[73]
• 2006: Portrayed Prospero in The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and then the Novello Theatre, and Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra at the Swan Theatre, for the Royal Shakespeare Company as part of the cycle performing all Shakespeare's works in a year.
• 2007: He appeared at Chichester Festival Theatre^[74] during the Summer 07 Festival playing the title role in Rupert Goold's acclaimed revival of Macbeth in the Minerva studio theatre,^[75] and as a grizzled Malvolio with a Scottish accent and kilt in Philip Franks' inventive main house staging of Twelfth Night. The Chichester production of Macbeth transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in London's Shaftesbury Avenue,^[76][77] where his performance won him the Best Actor Award in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2007. Goold also received the Best Director Award for the production.^[78]
• 2008: The title role in Macbeth at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City.
• 2008: The title role in Macbeth at the Lyceum Theatre, New York City. Stewart was nominated for the 2008 Tony award for Leading Actor in a Play, but lost out to fellow Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance.^[79]
• 2008: The roles of Claudius and the Ghost in Hamlet alongside David Tennant as the eponymous Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.^[80] This was later made into a television play and broadcast on BBC1 on 26 December 2009.^[81] The same production was broadcast in the U.S. as part of PBS' Great Performances series on 28 April 2010.^[82]
• 2009: Performed in Waiting for Godot in one of the two lead roles, Stewart as Vladimir (Didi) alongside Ian McKellen as Estragon (Gogo).^[83]
• 2010: Performed the part of William Shakespeare in Bingo: Scenes of Money and Death by Edward Bond at the Chichester Festival Theatre, transferring to the Young Vic Theatre in February of the following year. This was a role he had first performed in 1976 at the Other Place, Stratford.^[70]
• 2010: Played Robert in a Broadway production of David Mamet's A Life in the Theatre in 2010.

Filmography[link]

Stewart at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, 2010.