Who is Edward Snowden?

Edward Snowden is the American whistleblower behind the 2013 revelations of global mass surveillance, and author of Permanent Record, an international bestseller.

He was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and grew up in the shadow of Fort Meade. A systems engineer by training, he served as an officer of the Central Intelligence Agency and worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency. He has received numerous awards for his public service, including the Right Livelihood Award, the German Whistleblower Prize, the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling, and the Carl von Ossietzky Medal from the International League of Human Rights. Currently, he serves as president of the board of directors of the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Why subscribe to Continuing Ed?

Subscribe to get full access to the thoughts of a unique historic figure with Continuing Ed, including subscribers-only posts, audio versions of posts, podcasts, and more. Every new post goes directly to your inbox — you’ll never miss an update.

Join the community

Subscribers can comment and interact with the author, in periodic Q&As.