Gwynne Dyer

Michael Gwynne Dyer (born 17 April 1943) is a British-Canadian military historian, author, professor, journalist, broadcaster, and retired naval officer. Dyer rose to prominence in the 1980s with the release of his television series War in 1983 and the publication of an accompanying book in 1985. Since the 1960s he has lived in London, England, where he works as a syndicated columnist. Dyer is a noted expert in Middle Eastern affairs, having completed his graduate work in this area and written several books on the subject. More recently he has focused on climate change and its geopolitical consequences. Dyer was born during World War II in St. John's, in the then British crown colony the Dominion of Newfoundland. When Newfoundland joined Canada on 31 March 1949 he became de jure a Canadian citizen. Dyer joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve at the age of sixteen. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in history from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1963, a Master of Arts in military history from Rice University in Houston, Texas, in 1966 and a Doctor of Philosophy in military and Middle Eastern history at King's College London in 1973. Dyer served in the Canadian, American and British naval reserves. He was employed as a senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, 1973–77. In 1973 he began writing articles for leading London newspapers on the Arab–Israeli conflict, and soon decided to abandon academic life for a full-time career in journalism. Dyer was the O.D. Skelton Memorial lecturer on March 23, 1998, in St. John's, Newfoundland. In the fall of 2002 Royal Roads University awarded Dyer an Honorary Degree. In 2010, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.Dyer lives in Camden Town, London with his South African second wife Tina Viljoen. The couple met during the production of his 1983 television series War, where Viljoen was a co-producer. They have one daughter. Dyer also has two sons from his first marriage to journalist Clare Dyer.