Frank Gardner is a British journalist and broadcaster who has been a foreign correspondent for the BBC since 1996. He is best known for his coverage of the Middle East and his work in conflict zones. Gardner was born in London in 1961 and educated at the University of Cambridge. He began his career as a journalist in the 1980s, working for the Financial Times and the BBC. In 1996, he was appointed the BBC's Middle East correspondent, and he has since reported from many of the world's most dangerous places, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Gardner has won numerous awards for his work, including the Royal Television Society's International News Award in 2003 and the British Journalism Awards' International Journalist of the Year in 2004. He was also awarded an OBE in 2005 for his services to journalism. Gardner is a passionate advocate for the rights of disabled people, having been paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by terrorists in Saudi Arabia in 2004. He has written extensively about his experiences and has spoken out about the importance of disability rights. He is also a patron of the charity Disability Rights UK.