Rory Stewart

Rory Stewart, born on January third, nineteen seventy-three in British Hong Kong, is a multifaceted British academic, broadcaster, and writer. He has made significant contributions as a former diplomat and politician, currently teaching and co-directing the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. Since two thousand twenty-two, he has co-hosted the podcast The Rest Is Politics alongside Alastair Campbell.

Stewart's educational journey began at the prestigious Dragon School and continued at Eton College. Following a brief military service with the Black Watch, he pursued a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics at Balliol College, Oxford. His career in diplomacy commenced at the Foreign Office, where he held positions in Indonesia and Montenegro before embarking on a solo walk across Asia, which inspired his best-selling book, The Places in Between.

Involvement in the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq marked a pivotal point in Stewart's career. He later founded the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, an NGO dedicated to human development in Afghanistan, and served as a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. Joining the Conservative Party in two thousand nine, Stewart became the Member of Parliament for Penrith and The Border from two thousand ten to two thousand nineteen, where he held various significant roles, including Minister for the Environment and Secretary of State for International Development.

Stewart's political journey took a dramatic turn during the Conservative leadership contest in two thousand nineteen, where he campaigned against a no-deal Brexit and expressed his unwillingness to serve under Boris Johnson. After resigning from the cabinet following Johnson's ascension to prime minister, he had the Conservative Whip removed for voting to delay the UK's exit from the European Union. Ultimately, he resigned from the Conservative Party and stepped down as an MP in the two thousand nineteen general election, later announcing his intention to run as an independent in the London mayoral election, which he withdrew from due to the COVID pandemic.

In two thousand twenty-two, Stewart served as president of GiveDirectly and was a visiting fellow at Yale Jackson until two thousand twenty-two. His memoir, Politics on the Edge, was published in two thousand twenty-three, reflecting on his unique experiences and insights.