Patrick Smith, Editor, Africa Confidential

Patrick Smith has been Editor of Africa Confidential since 1991.
Founded in 1960 as a fortnightly hard-copy newsletter, Africa Confidential has since built a global reputation for original reporting and analysis of key political and security developments across the African continent that goes well beyond what is to be found in 'open source' material. The service itself is now substantively online, with intra-week reporting on key developments as and when they occur.
Today its proprietary analysis, commentary and reportage are used in a variety of areas such as:
corporate due diligence, political and country risk assessment, compliance with anti-corruption and other business ethics legislation (e.g. FCPA, UK Bribery Act, Dodd-Frank ['conflict minerals'] and Equator Principles), good governance, civil/military relations, conflict early warning, conflict resolution and humanitarian relief.
Africa Confidential enjoys a diverse global readership that includes: heads of state, foreign ministers, defense and intelligence agencies, risk advisory firms, international legal and accounting firms, NGOs, academic institutions & think tanks, insurance underwriters, consulting firms, and corporations operating in a variety of sectors in Africa, including energy, mining, infrastructure and capital markets.
Patrick Smith is a regular contributor to the BBC, the Guardian, the Observer, the Economist and other international media.