Russell Rook, Baron Rook

The Reverend and Right Honourable
The Lord Rook
OBE
Official portrait, 2025
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Life peerage
20 January 2025
Personal details
BornRussell David Rook
June 1972 (age 54)
PartyLabour
Children2
EducationThe Portsmouth Grammar School
Royal College of Music (BMus)
King's College London (MA)
University of St Andrews (PhD)

Russell David Rook, Baron Rook, OBE (born June 1972) is a British Anglican priest and life peer.

Early life

Russell was born in June 1972. He was educated at the Portsmouth Grammar School and spent his gap year after graduation working for The Salvation Army. He then studied at the Royal College of Music and King's College London. He undertook postgraduate research on the American theologian Robert Jenson at the University of St Andrews, completing his PhD degree in 2006. His thesis was titled "Rhyming hope and history: a study of the relationship between theology and culture in the work of Robert Jenson, with particular reference to the concepts of time, space and language".

Career

Rook worked for The Salvation Army as an evangelist, church planter and youth worker in the church's United Kingdom and Ireland Territory. From 2002 to 2008, he was director of ALOVE, the territory's youth ministry team.

Since 2016, Rook has been a partner in the Good Faith Partnership. He has been involved with various charities. He served as a Parliamentary aide to Maeve Sherlock, and was an adviser on faith and civil society to Ed Miliband when he was Leader of the Opposition.

Rook was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 2022 and as a priest in 2023. He served his self-supporting curacy at St Dionis, Parsons Green in the Diocese of London. In June 2025, he left his curacy to become a "Licensed Preacher Under Seal" in his diocese, while maintaining a link with St Dionis' Church.

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to social action.

In late 2024, Rook was nominated for a life peerage by Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the Labour Party. He was created Baron Rook, of Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton, on 20 January 2025, and was introduced to the House of Lords on 23 January. He made his maiden speech on 13 March 2025 during a debate on integration and community cohesion.

Personal life

Rook is married to Charlotte Eksteen, a professional cellist. They have two sons.

Selected works

References

  1. ↑ "Russell David ROOK personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
  2. ↑ "OP Russell Rook Awarded OBE". Portsmouth Grammar School. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Political Peerages December 2024" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk.
  4. ↑ Rook, Russell D. (2006). Rhyming hope and history: a study of the relationship between theology and culture in the work of Robert Jenson, with particular reference to the concepts of time, space and language (PhD thesis). University of St Andrews. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "Introducing: Dr. Russell Rook, OBE". RENEW OXFORD. 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "The chapel on the street". salvationarmy.org.nz. The Salvation Army NZFTS. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "ALOVE: The Salvation Army for a new generation". Caring Magazine. 1 June 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 "Rook, Baron, (Rev. Russell David Rook), ( born 1972)". Who's Who 2026. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2025. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U301115. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
  9. 1 2 "OP Russell Rook Awarded OBE". Portsmouth Grammar School. 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  10. ↑ "Dr Russell Rook". Concordia. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Clergy and Staff moves May 2025". Diocese of London. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Who's Who?". www.stdionis.org.uk. St Dionis Church. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "2022 New Year's Honours" (PDF). Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  14. ↑ "Political Peerages December 2024". GOV.UK (Press release). Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  15. ↑ Pollock, Laura (20 December 2024). "See the 38 new lifetime peers announced by the UK Government". The National. Retrieved 20 December 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  16. ↑ "No. 64639". The London Gazette. 24 January 2025. p. 1182.
  17. ↑ "Introduction: Lord Rook". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 842. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 23 January 2025. col. 1803.
  18. ↑ Lord Rook (13 March 2025). "Integration and Community Cohesion". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 844. United Kingdom: House of Lords. col. 891–893.
  19. ↑ "St Dionis". www.stdionis.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-20.