Peter Arnett

Peter Gregg Arnett (13 November 1934 – 17 December 2025) was a New Zealand and American journalist. He was known for his coverage of the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. He was awarded the 1966 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for his work in Vietnam from 1962 to 1965, mostly reporting for the Associated Press. Born to a Ngāi Tahu Māori and English family in the Southland Region, Arnett began his career in Invercargill before moving to Bangkok, prior to his experience in Vietnam. However, his reporting from Baghdad, Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War while working at CNN became one his most notable accomplishments as a journalist. He also worked for National Geographic magazine, later for various television networks—most notably for nearly two decades at CNN—and published a memoir, Live from the Battlefield: From Vietnam to Baghdad, 35 Years in the World's War Zones (1994). In March 1997, he interviewed Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda. The journalism school at the Southern Institute of Technology in New Zealand was named for Arnett. In the 2007 New Year Honours, Arnett was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.