Gill Hicks

Gill Hicks is considered one of the most thought-provoking, powerful and life affirming speakers in Australia and the UK. She is known globally as a survivor of the London Terrorist Bombings of 7 July 2005.

She survived, but suffered severe and permanent injuries, losing both legs from just below the knee.

Originally from Adelaide, Gill moved to London in 1991. In 2012 Gill returned to Australia, where she now operates nationally and internationally through her not-for-profit M.A.D. for Peace network and her public speaking engagements.

Drawing upon her previous roles within the Arts, Gill’s compelling projects and initiatives are aimed at deterring anyone from following the path of violent extremism and building sustainable models for peace.

In her impressive career before the bombings she was at the helm of some of the UK’s most respected and prestigious institutions. Her roles included being Publishing Director of the architecture, design and contemporary culture magazine Blueprint; Director of the Dangerous Minds design consultancy; and Head Curator at the Design Council.

It wasn’t until after the bombings that Gill decided to dedicate her life to being an advocate for peace.

In 2007 Gill founded the not-for-profit organisation M.A.D. for Peace, a platform that connects people globally and encourages us to think of ‘peace’ as a verb, something that we have an individual responsibility to ‘do’ every day.

The following year Gill released her first book, One Unknown, named after the chilling label given to her when she arrived at the hospital after the bombing as an unidentified body. The book received fantastic reviews and was shortlisted for the Mind Book of the Year Awards (2008).

The honours and impressive achievements Gill has received demonstrate her commitment to making a personal difference. These accolades include, but are not limited to: being selected to carry the 2008 Olympic Torch in Canberra; being recognised with an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List (2008-09) for her services to charity; and becoming both the Australian of the Year in the UK and Australian Woman of the Year in the UK in 2009. Gill has received two Honorary Doctorates: one in Philosophy from the London Metropolitan University, recognising her contribution to architecture and design and her work promoting the importance of establishing sustainable peace; the other from Kingston University in recognition of her dedication to rehabilitative health.

Since her return to Australia in 2012, she has been recognised as the South Australian, Australian of the Year 2015 and is Chair of the Innovation component for the Committee for Adelaide.

In 2013, Gill welcomed her daughter Amelie into the world. She describes it as is her finest achievement and greatest acknowledgement of the brilliance and resilience of the human body.

Dr Gill Hicks is exclusively represented by Saxton.