Elizabeth Becker is a journalist and author who specializes in trade, development, and Asian affairs.
Becker began her career as a war correspondent for The Washington Post covering Cambodia. She left Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge expelled all foreigners from the country in April 1975. She was one of two American journalists allowed by the Khmer Rouge to return to Democratic Kampuchea briefly in 1978. Just weeks after her visit, the Vietnamese army attacked and overthrew the Khmer Rouge. She is the author of When the War Was Over, a modern history of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge.[1]
She covers foreign and domestic issues, especially those relating to agriculture, international relief and development, and homeland security for The New York Times. Previously she was the Senior Foreign Editor for National Public Radio.
Becker holds a degree in South Asian studies from the University of Washington and did language studies at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthaan in Agra, India. She is on the board of directors of the Arthur F. Burns Foundation and the Pearl S. Buck Foundation.