Lewis Gordon Pugh

• Founder
  Polar Defence Project

Lewis Pugh is Founder of the Polar Defence Project. He is best known for undertaking the first swim across the North Pole to highlight the melting of Arctic sea ice and for swimming across a glacial lake on Mt Everest to draw attention to melting glaciers in the Himalayas and the impact the reduced water supply will have on world peace. He is also the first person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world. Lewis read law at the University of Cape Town and Cambridge before working as a maritime lawyer in London. He now devotes himself to the preservation and protection of Earth's most precious resource: water. His work seeks to educate politicians and business leaders, and to empower the public to protect our oceans, rivers, lakes, ice and all aquatic life with the ultimate outcome: a sustainable and peaceful future for all. Lewis has received a number of awards, including France and South Africa's highest honours and the Freedom of the City of London.