Edward Snowden

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Profession :

other

Birthday :

June 21, 1983

Star Sign :

Cancer

Age :

41

Birthplace :

Elizabeth City, North Carolina, United States

Edward Snowden is a former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who leaked classified government documents revealing the extent of mass surveillance programs by the US government on American citizens and individuals worldwide. His most famous work is the release of classified documents to The Guardian and The Washington Post in 2013, which sparked a global debate on privacy and government surveillance. Other works and achievements include being awarded the Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence and his memoir, Permanent Record.

Edward Snowden’s name is believed to have derived from his family’s ancestral association with a Welsh town of the same name. His paternal grandfather, Edward J. Snowden, was a Coast Guard rear admiral and his maternal grandfather, John F. Kelly, was a history teacher who also coached football. Snowden has said that he remembers his grandfather teaching him how to read with a copy of the US Constitution.

Edward Snowden has stated that he enlisted in the US Army Reserve as a Special Forces candidate “to fight in the Iraq War” but he “did not want to go to Iraq.” He was discharged after breaking both of his legs in a training accident. This experience led him to develop a deeper skepticism about the military and the US government’s intentions.