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Le Monde, France
Le Monde Names Julian Assange Man of the Year
By Yves Eudes
Translated By Mary Kenney
December 24, 2010
Below is an excerpt from the portrait that Le Monde Magazine, in its December 25 edition, dedicated to Julian Assange:
Tall, thin and elegant, Julian Assange, founder and chief of WikiLeaks, first of all strikes his interlocutors as a talented speaker with a deep and sober voice, who knows how to conduct himself with rigor, humor, emotion - but also sarcasm. Watching him work, one discovers a gifted, ultra-efficient professional: once he begins a project, he dedicates himself to it completely, night and day, to the point of exhaustion.
When asked what exactly he does, Assange's response is long, but precise: "I'm an activist, journalist, a software programmer and expert in cryptography, specializing in systems designed to protect the defenders of human rights." WikiLeaks, a site dedicated to disclosing confidential documents, is the fruit of his unique mélange of skills, acquired over the course of an uncommon life.
In 2006, he founded WikiLeaks, a site so encrypted and secure that it allowed users to expose scandal while remaining anonymous. He very quickly succeeded in gathering around him a small global army of volunteer geeks and journalists.
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