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Journalism of Courage
Former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook died in hospital on Saturday, having collapsed while on a walk in his native Scotland, police said. He was 59.
Cook served as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001 and maintained a high public profile as a fierce critic of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq.
He resigned as Leader of the House of Commons in 2003 over the government’s decision to back the US-led war.
Cook was walking on Ben Stack mountain on Saturday when he collapsed, police said.
‘‘Mr Cook apparently took ill while walking with his wife Gaynor on Ben Stack and was removed by a Stornoway coast guard helicopter to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness,’’ a police statement said.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, standing in for Blair, who is on holiday, said, ‘‘Robin was the greatest parliamentarian of his generation.
‘‘He also made an enormous contribution to British politics in opposition and in government. He will be sorely missed.’’
Cook, first elected to Parliament in 1974, was regarded as one of the outstanding political debaters of his era. He drew widespread praise for an eloquent resignation speech when he quit the government.
Cook took over the Foreign Office in 1997 after a landslide election win by Blair’s centre-Left Labour party, pledging a new ‘‘ethical dimension’’ to foreign policy.
But his first year in office was marked by personal embarrassment and questions over his judgment.
He survived a personal scandal to play a prominent role in NATO’s 1999 campaign to force Serbian troops out of Kosovo—which he later listed as one of his greatest achievements. —Reuters
