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Draft:Thalif Deen

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Thalif Deen
Born
Colombo, Ceylon
Education
OccupationJournalist

Thalif Deen is a Sri Lankan-American journalist and writer who lives and works in the United States.

He has written extensively on the subjects of international relations, geopolitics, defense procurement, and nuclear disarmament, as well as development policies and humanitarian aid issues in the Global South.[1].

He is currently Senior Editor and Director at Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency[2] based at the United Nations, and a former IPS UN Bureau Chief. He is also presently Editor-at-Large at In-Depth News (IDN), Berlin[3][4].

Deen has been a columnist, analyst and editor at numerous publications, including Jane's Defence Weekly, Asiaweek, the Hong Kong Standard, the Sri Lanka Daily News and The Sunday Times of Sri Lanka. His work has featured in several other national and international media outlets, including Al Jazeera and the New Straits Times[1][2]. He is the author of two books: "How to Survive a Nuclear Disaster"[5] (co-authored with Earl S. Browning), and "No Comment! ... And Don't Quote Me On That"[6].

Life and education

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Deen was born in the Hulftsdorp area of Colombo, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to a Sri Lankan Malay family. He attended Zahira College before studying economics at the University of Ceylon at Peradeniya (later renamed the University of Peradeniya) in Kandy, Sri Lanka from 1958, where his contemporaries included Nihal Rodrigo and Jayantha Dhanapala[7].

In 1971, Deen was awarded a Fulbright grant from the U.S. Department of State to study at Columbia University in New York City, where he received an MSc in Journalism. In 1973, after completing his degree, he won the annual Journalism Fellowship at International House, and was editor of the in-house monthly newsletter of International House of New York[8][9].

Deen is a naturalized U.S. citizen and has been a long-time resident of New York, where he lives with his wife, Lucille Altamore[7]. In 2025, New York City Council awarded him a citation as part of a group of Sri Lankan-Americans who have contributed significantly to New York's community and culture[10].

Career and writing

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Deen began his career as a journalist at the Ceylon Observer in 1962, then under the editorship of Denzil Peiris and the directorship of Esmond Wickremesinghe, remaining a member of the editorial staff until 1971[7]. In 1965 he was awarded the annual Wijewardena Award for “the most outstanding journalist of the year”.

After completing his degree at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, Deen returned to Sri Lanka and became Deputy News Editor of the Ceylon Daily News in 1974. The same year, he joined the Hong Kong Standard as a Senior Editorial Writer[7].

Deen became an Information Officer for the United Nations Secretariat in 1975[7][11], before working as Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defense Marketing Services in Connecticut and Senior Defense Analyst at Forecast International[6]. He subsequently wrote for Jane's Defence Weekly as UN correspondent and then Military Editor Middle East/Africa at Jane’s Information Group in Virginia, USA[12][13]. His writing at Janes' Defence Weekly has been referenced in the United States Congress[14].

In 1976 and 1977, Deen was a member of the Sri Lanka's official delegation to the UN General Assembly sessions, headed by then Foreign Minister A.C.S. Hameed[6][7].

Deen joined the IPS news service as UN correspondent in 1978, becoming North America Regional Director and UN Bureau Chief[11]. He covered the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, and has since reported on several major UN conferences on topics including population growth, human rights, the environment, sustainable development, food and water security, humanitarian aid and arms control[2]. His contribution to IPS's coverage on environmental issues was recognized by the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) in their 2012 Gold Medal award for reporting on climate change[15], and he shared the UNCA's 2013 Gold Medal award for his writing on the UN's humanitarian and development work[16].

Until 2008, Deen maintained a regular column in Sri Lanka's Sunday Times entitled "Inside the Glass House", writing mostly about international affairs and covering proceedings at the UN and its related organizations[7][17][18].

Deen was Executive Editor of the Journal of the Group of 77[19], an official publication by the coalition of 134 developing countries at the United Nations[20]. He has also appeared as a panelist on World Chronicle, the UN’s weekly radio program[21][22].

Awards

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Books

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  • Deen, Thalif, and Browning, Earl S. (1981). How to survive a nuclear disaster. United States, New Century. ISBN 978-0-8329-0103-4.
  • Deen, Thalif. (2021). No Comment, and Don't Quote Me on That: From the Sublime to the Hilarious? Over 45 Years of Reporting from the United Nations. Grigson Consulting Pty, Limited. ISBN 978-0-6484190-0-6.
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References

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  1. ^ a b "Muck Rack | For journalists and public relations". muckrack.com. 2025-05-28. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  2. ^ a b c "Thalif Deen - Author". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  3. ^ Matters, IDN-InDepthNews | Analysis That (2021-09-19). "Veteran Journalist Thalif Deen Takes Over as IDN Advisor". IDN-InDepthNews. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  4. ^ "Thalif Deen". Eurasia Review. 2025-02-25. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  5. ^ Deen, Thalif; Browning, Earl S. (1981). How to Survive a Nuclear Disaster. New Century. ISBN 978-0-8329-0103-4.
  6. ^ a b c Deen, Thalif (2021-03-16). No Comment, and Don't Quote Me on That: From the Sublime to the Hilarious? Over 45 Years of Reporting from the United Nations. Grigson Consulting Pty, Limited. ISBN 978-0-6484190-0-6.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Getting a closer look at the man 'Inside the Glass House'". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  8. ^ "1971-1972 International House Resident Directory and Addendum". Issuu. 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  9. ^ "1972- 1973 International House Resident Directory and Addendum". Issuu. 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  10. ^ a b pliotta@siadvance.com, Paul Liotta | (2025-02-05). "NYC Council hosts its first celebration of Sri Lankan Independence Day". silive. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  11. ^ a b "Thalif Deen - Our World". ourworld.unu.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  12. ^ https://www.faustobiloslavo.eu/articoli/23826.pdf
  13. ^ https://atag.org.br/Janes-Defence-Weekly-16SET2009.pdf
  14. ^ https://www.congress.gov/101/crecb/1989/05/03/GPO-CRECB-1989-pt6-7-3.pdf pp. 35.
  15. ^ a b SHEPPARD, D. Benjamin. "United Nations Correspondents Association - 2012 Awards Winners". cms.unca.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-31. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  16. ^ a b "2013 UNCA Awards Winners « The United Nations Correspondents Association". unca.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-02. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  17. ^ "Inside the glass house". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  18. ^ "::: The Sunday Times : Editorial/Opinion". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  19. ^ "Journal of G-77". www.g77.org. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  20. ^ "About the Group of 77". www.g77.org. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  21. ^ https://www.un.org/webcast/worldchron/trans946.pdf
  22. ^ https://www.un.org/webcast/pdfs/wc970.pdf
  23. ^ "New York City Council celebrates Sri Lanka's Independence Day". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2025-06-03.

Category:Journalists Category:Sri Lanka Category:Sri Lankan Malays Category:Sri Lankan journalists Category:Sri Lankan-American culture

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