James Suzman

Suzman was born in Johannesburg South Africa and educated at Michaelhouse. He graduated with an MA(Hons) in Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews in 1993. He was awarded a Ph.D in social anthropology from Edinburgh University in 1996.

Suzman was the first social anthropologist to work in Namibia's eastern Omaheke among "Southern Ju/'hoansi" where he exposed the brutal marginalisation of San that had lost their lands to white cattle ranchers and pastoralist Herero.

In 1998 Suzman was appointed to lead the landmark study, The Regional Assessment of the Status of the San in Southern Africa. Based on an ACP/EU resolution.

Suzman later led an assessment by the Minority Rights Group International to assess how Namibia's ethnic minorities had fared in the first ten years of Namibian Independence. The subsequent report was published in 2002. Emerging during period of political upheaval in Namibia, it led to calls for the better protection of ethnic minorities in Namibia. The Namibian Government rejected the report's findings and the President, Sam Nujoma, accused Suzman of amplifying "ethnic tensions".

In 2001, Suzman was awarded the Smuts Commonwealth Fellowship in African Studies at Cambridge University.

Suzman later established a program to establish opportunities for Hai//om San to benefit from tourism revenues in Etosha National Park. Suzman was also involved in the dispute that arose as a result of the illegal relocation of Gwi and Gana San from Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Suzman was highly critical of the Botswana Government's actions and, later, Survival International's campaign which he claimed undermined ongoing negotiations between the Botswana Government and a coalition of organisations supporting the evicted San. Survival International, in turn, criticised Suzman and members of the negotiating team lead by Ditshwanelo, The Botswana Centre for Human Rights of complicity with the Botswana Government.

In 2007, Suzman joined De Beers where as Global Head of Public Affairs he developed De Beers award-winning sustainability functions. He resigned in 2013.

In 2013 Suzman and Jimmy Wales teamed up with Lily Cole to launch Impossible.com at the Cambridge Union. In the same year he was invited to deliver the 2nd Protimos Lecture at the Parliament Chamber of London's Inner Temple.

Suzman has published widely on San and other issues in academic journals, magazines and newspapers including the New York Times. His most recent book, Affluence Without Abundance: The Disappearing World of the Bushmen is due for release in the USA on 11 July 2017 and in the UK, New Zealand, Australia South Africa and elsewhere in September 2017.