Cook, Robin

Cook, Robin (1946- ), British Labour Party politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1997- ). Born in Bellshill in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, Cook was educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he read English Literature. After graduation, he worked in adult education as a tutor and organizer, before entering politics. In 1974 he was elected Labour Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Central, a seat he held until 1983, when he was elected from the constituency of Livingston, which he has represented ever since. In his early political career, he aligned himself with the radical left wing of Labour, but subsequently moderated his views. He was Shadow Secretary of State for Health (1987-1992) and for Trade and Industry (1992-1994), before becoming Shadow Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 1994. Under Tony Blair, he took the Foreign Affairs portfolio following Labour's May 1997 general election victory. In August 1997, amid wide publicity, he divorced his wife Margaret for his House of Commons aide Gaynor Regan, whom he married in April 1998. In March 1998 he made a controversial tour of Israel, where his gestures of support for the Palestinian community outraged the government of Binyamin Netanyahu. In May Cook announced an internal enquiry following allegations of Foreign Office involvement in the coup d'état that ousted the military junta in Sierra Leone in February 1998.