Cook, Robin 1946–2005

(Robin Finlayson Cook)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born February 28, 1946, in Belshill, Scotland; died of heart failure, August 6, 2005, in Iverness, Scotland. Politician and author. Cook was a prominent Labour Party leader in Britain who rose to the post of foreign secretary and later resigned as House of Commons leader in protest of Britain's policies in Iraq. Cook originally intended to become a Presbyterian minister, and he studied English literature at Edinburgh University. During his college years, however, he began to lose his religious faith and decided to pursue a political career instead. After university he became a school teacher; his left-leaning beliefs then led to work as a lecturer for the Workers' Educational Association. In the early 1970s he became chair of the Edinburgh City Council's housing committee; then, in 1974, he won the election to represent Edinburgh Central. As a member of British Parliament (MP), Cook was careful to prove himself as a moderate leftist, and by 1980 he had earned a post as deputy spokesman of economic affairs and the treasury. In 1983 Cook was chosen to the House of Commons' Shadow Cabinet and was assigned to be European spokesman, a vote of confidence from the Labour Party. Winning reelection in 1987, he was made spokesman of Shadow Social Services. Cook became a noted voice opposing conservative Tory Party leadership, and was recognized for his stalwart insistence on sticking by his principles when the Spectator named him Parliamentarian of the Year in 1991. When, in 1996, Cook opposed Prime Minister John Major's policy of arms sales to Iraq, he helped bring about the downfall of the Tories. This subsequently helped Labour Party candidate Tony Blair win the next election for prime minister. Blair rewarded Cook by appointing him foreign secretary in 1997, but Cook found it a difficult office to serve in. He was criticized for signing off on arms sales to Sierra Leone and Indonesia. An affair with Gaynor Regan that ended his first marriage also damaged his reputation, though he soon married Regan. On the other hand, he was credited with helping to modernize the Labour Party. Winning reelection to Parliament in 2001, Cook was removed from the foreign secretary post and made leader of the House of Commons. He made use of this position by expressing his views against Britain's policies in Iraq. Frustrated, he finally resigned in 2003 when he could no longer countenance Blair's continuing support for the Iraq war. Cook remained an MP, however, and had just won reelection when he suffered a heart attack while hiking in the Scottish highlands. Over the years, he published several books, including the coauthored What Future in NATO? (1978), Life Begins at Forty: In Defence of the NHS (1988), and the autobiography The Point of Departure (2004).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Cook, Robin, The Point of Departure, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, August 7, 2005, p. B13.

New York Times, August 8, 2005, p. A17.

Times (London, England), August 8, 2005, p. 43.

Washington Post, August 7, 2005, p. C10.