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Robin Cook
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==In government== ===Foreign Secretary=== [[File:Defense.gov News Photo 971204-D-2987S-004.jpg|thumb|Cook with [[United States Secretary of Defense]] [[William Cohen]] in December 1997]] With the election of a Labour government led by [[Tony Blair]] at the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], Cook became Foreign Secretary. He was believed to have coveted the job of [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], but that job was reportedly promised by Tony Blair to [[Gordon Brown]]. He announced, to much scepticism, his intention to add "an ethical dimension" to foreign policy.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} His term as Foreign Secretary was marked by British interventions in [[Kosovo]] and [[Sierra Leone]]. Both of these were controversial, the former because it was not sanctioned by the [[UN Security Council]], and the latter because of allegations that the British company [[Sandline International]] had supplied arms to supporters of the deposed president in contravention of a United Nations embargo.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/05/98/arms_to_africa_row/95823.stm|title=UK Government faces Sierra Leone grilling|work=BBC News|date=18 May 1998|access-date=13 June 2014|archive-date=26 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826115557/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/05/98/arms_to_africa_row/95823.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Cook was also embarrassed when his apparent offer to mediate in the dispute between India and Pakistan over [[Kashmir]] was rebuffed. The ethical dimension of his policies was subject to inevitable scrutiny, leading to criticism at times. Cook was responsible for achieving the agreement between the UK and [[Iran]] that ended the Iranian death threat against author [[Salman Rushdie]], allowing both nations to normalize diplomatic relations.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} He is also credited with having helped resolve the eight-year [[impasse]] over the [[Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial]] by getting [[Libya]] to agree to hand over the two accused ([[Megrahi]] and [[Fhimah]]) in 1999, for trial in the Netherlands according to [[Scots law]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} In March 1998, a diplomatic rift ensued with Israel when Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] cancelled a dinner with Cook, while Cook was visiting Israel and had demonstrated opposition to the expansion of Israeli settlements.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schmemann|first=Serge|title=Netanyahu Angrily Cancels Dinner With Visiting Briton|date=18 March 1998|access-date=24 June 2009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/18/world/netanyahu-angrily-cancels-dinner-with-visiting-briton.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|archive-date=1 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110601183631/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/18/world/netanyahu-angrily-cancels-dinner-with-visiting-briton.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Although reported to have had republican sympathies,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1346189/Prescott-and-Beckett-fuel-Labour-split-on-monarchy.html|title=Prescott and Beckett fuel Labour split on monarchy|last=Cracknell |first=David |access-date=25 June 2016 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160920073720/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1346189/Prescott-and-Beckett-fuel-Labour-split-on-monarchy.html|archive-date=20 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> he and [[Queen Elizabeth II]] were said to be on good terms due to their mutual interest in horses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2012/06/the-turf-all-the-queens-horses/|title=All the Queen's horses {{!}} The Spectator|date=2 June 2012|language=en-US|access-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812103648/http://www.spectator.co.uk/2012/06/the-turf-all-the-queens-horses/|archive-date=12 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> ===Leader of the House of Commons=== Following the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]] he was moved, against his wishes, from the Foreign Office to be [[Leader of the House of Commons]]. This was widely seen as a demotion{{snd}}although it is a Cabinet post, it is substantially less prestigious than the Foreign Office{{snd}}and Cook nearly turned it down.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2001-06-10 |title=Cabinet reshuffling pored over |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1380905.stm |access-date=2024-11-17 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> In the end he accepted, and looking on the bright side welcomed the chance to spend more time on his favourite stage. According to ''[[The Observer]]'', it was Blair's fears over political battles within the Cabinet over Europe, and especially the [[Euro]], which saw him demote the pro-European Cook.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|title=The sacrifice: why Robin Cook was fired|date=10 June 2001|access-date=24 June 2009|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/2001review/story/0,1590,617634,00.html|work=[[The Observer]]|location=London|first=Kamal|last=Ahmed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316050002/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/2001review/story/0,1590,617634,00.html|archive-date=16 March 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> As Leader of the House, he was responsible for reforming the hours and practices of the Commons and for leading the debate on [[reform of the House of Lords]]. He also spoke for the Government during the controversy surrounding the membership of Commons Select Committees which arose in 2001, where Government whips were accused of pushing aside the outspoken committee chairs [[Gwyneth Dunwoody]] and [[Donald Anderson, Baron Anderson of Swansea|Donald Anderson]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/1435189.stm|title=Cook defends committee sackings|work=[[BBC News]]|date=12 July 2001|access-date=13 June 2014|archive-date=13 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613194833/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/1435189.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> He was President of the [[Party of European Socialists]] from May 2001 to April 2004. In early 2003, during a television appearance on [[BBC]]'s debating series ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'', he was inadvertently referred to as "Robin Cock" by [[David Dimbleby]]. Cook responded with good humour with "Yes, David Bumblebee", and Dimbleby apologised twice on air for his slip.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3623988/Just-answer-the-question.html|title=Just answer the question|first=David|last=Dimbleby|date=14 September 2004|access-date=31 May 2018|work=The Daily Telegraph|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304173008/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3623988/Just-answer-the-question.html|archive-date=4 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The episode also saw Cook in the uncomfortable position of defending the Government's stance over the impending invasion of Iraq, weeks before his resignation over the issue. He documented his time as [[Leader of the House of Commons]] in a widely acclaimed memoir ''The Point of Departure'', which discussed in diary form his efforts to reform the [[House of Lords]] and to persuade his ministerial colleagues, including [[Tony Blair]], to distance the Labour Government from the foreign policy of the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]]. The former political editor of ''[[Channel 4 News]]'', [[Elinor Goodman]] called the book 'the best insight yet into the workings of the Blair cabinet', the former editor of ''[[The Observer]]'', [[Will Hutton]], called it "the political book of the year{{snd}}a lucid and compelling insider's account of the two years that define the Blair Prime Ministership". ===Resignation over Iraq war=== In early 2003, he was reported to be one of the cabinet's chief opponents of military action against Iraq, and on 17 March he resigned from the Cabinet. In a statement giving his reasons for resigning, he said, "I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without international agreement or domestic support." He also praised Blair's "heroic efforts" in pushing for the so-called second resolution regarding the [[Iraq disarmament crisis]], but lamented "The reality is that Britain is being asked to embark on a war without agreement in any of the international bodies of which we are a leading partner{{snd}}not NATO, not the European Union and, now, not the Security Council". Cook's heartfelt resignation speech<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030317/debtext/30317-33.htm#30317-33_spnew0 Cook's resignation speech] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031194106/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030317/debtext/30317-33.htm#30317-33_spnew0 |date=31 October 2017 }} β Hansard.</ref> in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] received an unprecedented standing ovation from some fellow MPs, and was described by the [[BBC]]'s [[Andrew Marr]] as "without doubt one of the most effective, brilliant resignation speeches in modern British politics."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2859431.stm|title=Cook's resignation speech|work=[[BBC News]]|date=18 March 2003|access-date=24 June 2009|archive-date=7 February 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207170048/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2859431.stm}}</ref> Most unusually for the British parliament, Cook's speech was met with growing applause from all sides of the House and from the public gallery. According to ''[[The Economist]]''{{'}}s obituary, that was the first speech ever to receive a standing ovation in the history of the House.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/obituary/2005/08/11/robin-cook|title=Robin Cook: Robert Finlayson (Robin) Cook, politician and parliamentarian, died on August 6th, aged 59|date=11 August 2005|access-date=9 February 2010|newspaper=[[The Economist]]}} {{Subscription required}}</ref>
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