Robin Cook

Former British Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House

Mr Cook was born on February 28, 1946 and studied English Literature at Edinburgh University.

Mr. Cook first became a Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Central between 1974 and 1983. He is currently MP for Livingston in Scotland.

He became Mr. Blair’s foreign affairs spokesman in 1994. After Labour’s landslide election victory in 1997, he was appointed Britain’s Foreign Secretary — and proposed a foreign policy conducted with an “ethical dimension”.

Under Tony Blair, Mr. Cook — once a spokesman of the left-wing of his party — dropped previous commitments to unilateral disarmament and a Eurosceptic approach. Instaed, he praised the prime minister’s “third way”.

After the 2002 election, Robin Cook was replaced as foreign minister — and became Leader of the House.

On March 17, 2003, Mr. Cook resigned from his post in protest of his government’s Iraq policy.