Alan Rusbridger was born in 1953 in Lusaka in Zambia. After obtaining honors in English Literature at Cambridge he began his career as a journalist, joining the Guardian in 1979 and becoming its editor in 1995. In 1996 he was made executive editor of the Observer. He has also edited a number of publications including New World Order, a collection of Guardian essays, and Altered State, a collection of Guardian pieces on South Africa. He has long been a campaigner for libel law reform, and the Guardian has vigorously campaigned for greater freedom of information. Alan Rusbridger lives in London and Gloucestershire.