Lesley-Anne Knight is former Chief Executive Officer of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela to work for peace and human rights. She has been active in humanitarian and development work for more than 30 years and believes strongly that combating injustice and inequality is vital to building enduring peace in the world. Before joining The Elders, she was Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, one of the world’s largest development and humanitarian networks. She was the first woman to be appointed to the position.

She has also worked for CAFOD (the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) and Help Age International. Earlier in her career she spent several years in Latin America working with indigenous peoples and refugees. Lesley-Anne was born and brought up in Zimbabwe and attended university in Cape Town.