David Roderick Shukman (born 30 May 1958) is a British journalist, and the former science editor of BBC News.

Early life

Shukman was born in 1958 in St Pancras, London. He is of Jewish ancestry – his grandfather, whom he is named after, was part of the Jewish community who lived in Baranow, Congress Poland which was then part of the Russian Empire, before emigrating and settling in the United Kingdom. His father was Harold Shukman, a Russian scholar at St Antony's College, Oxford; his mother was Ann King-Farlow, also a Russian scholar, of writers such as Alexander Men (a Russian theologian). His brother Henry Shukman is a meditation teacher and co-founder of The Way. Shukman attended the Dragon School and Eton College, then earned a bachelor's degree in geography at Durham University in 1980. and was a member of Hatfield College.

Career

Shukman worked at the Coventry Evening Telegraph from 1980 to 1983 when he joined the BBC. He was a Northern Ireland reporter from 1985 to 1987, then the Defence Correspondent (TV) from 1987 to 1995. From then until 1999 he was the European Correspondent, and broadening his coverage in 1999, he became the World Affairs Correspondent until 2003, when he became Environment and Science correspondent. In January 2012 Shukman was appointed as the BBC's first science editor. Shukman said: "It's a privilege to be given this new role as part of the BBC's drive to enhance its science coverage. The science story has never been so compelling and I'm delighted to be given this opportunity to lead our reporting and analysis of it."

Personal life

In 1998, Shukman married Jessica Pryce-Jones, an author and executive coach. They have three children. He is a member of the Frontline Club.