Russell Rook, Baron Rook
The Lord Rook | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Life peerage 20 January 2025 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Russell David Rook June 1972 (age 53) |
| Party | Labour |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | The Portsmouth Grammar School |
| Alma mater | Royal College of Music (BMus) King's College London (MA) University of St Andrews (PhD) |
Russell David Rook, Baron Rook, OBE, (born June 1972)[1] is a British Anglican priest and life peer.
Early life
Russell was educated at the Portsmouth Grammar School and spent his gap year after graduation working for The Salvation Army.[2] He then studied at the Royal College of Music and King's College London before completing his PhD at the University of St Andrews.[3]
Career
Rook is a partner in the Good Faith Partnership and has been involved with various charities.[4] He served as a Parliamentary aide to Maeve Sherlock, and was an adviser on faith and civil society to Ed Miliband when he was Leader of the Opposition.[5] In 2022, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England, and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to social action.[4][6]
In late 2024, Rook was nominated for a life peerage by Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the Labour Party.[7][8] He was created Baron Rook, of Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton, on 20 January 2025,[9] and was introduced to the House of Lords on 23 January.[10]
Personal life
Rook is married to Charlotte Eksteen, a professional cellist. They have two sons.[11]
References
- ^ "Russell David ROOK personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
- ^ "OP Russell Rook Awarded OBE". Portsmouth Grammar School. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- ^ "Political Peerages December 2024" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk.
- ^ a b "OP Russell Rook Awarded OBE". Portsmouth Grammar School. 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
- ^ "Dr Russell Rook". Concordia. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
- ^ "2022 New Year's Honours" (PDF). Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "Political Peerages December 2024". GOV.UK (Press release). Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Pollock, Laura (20 December 2024). "See the 38 new lifetime peers announced by the UK Government". The National. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "No. 64639". The London Gazette. 24 January 2025. p. 1182.
- ^ "Introduction: Lord Rook". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 842. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 23 January 2025. col. 1803.
- ^ "St Dionis | St Dionis church, church, Jesus, Parsons Green, Fulham". www.stdionis.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-20.