Rory Stewart

Rory Stewart – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Explore the life and career of Rory Stewart — the British politician, diplomat, adventurer, and author. Learn his biography, achievements, and memorable quotes.

Introduction

Roderick James Nugent “Rory” Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, broadcaster, author, former diplomat, and politician. His public life is defined by breadth — service in government, daring explorations, international development work, and a willingness to cross disciplinary boundaries. In Parliament from 2010 to 2019 (first as a Conservative, later as an independent), Stewart became known for his thoughtfulness, pragmatism, and willingness to reject politics as usual. His books, walks, and public commentary continue to resonate beyond party labels.

Early Life and Family

Rory Stewart was born on 3 January 1973 in Hong Kong, then a British territory. His father, Brian Stewart, was a British diplomat and intelligence officer, reportedly reaching high ranks in MI6. Rory’s mother was Sally Elizabeth Acland Nugent (née Rose). He has a sister with Down syndrome.

Because of his father’s work, Rory’s childhood involved time in various countries, including Malaysia and Hong Kong, before returning to Britain. He was educated at the Dragon School (Oxford), Eton College, and then read History at Balliol College, Oxford.

During his university years, Stewart had a brief commission in the Black Watch (Scottish regiment) as a second lieutenant (on probation) during a gap period.

His upbringing was shaped by a sense of public service, moral reflection, and intellectual curiosity — themes that would carry through his later life.

Diplomatic Service, Exploration & Early Career

Before entering politics, Stewart had a dynamic early career in diplomacy and travel.

• He joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, serving in Jakarta, Indonesia (1997–1999).

• He was then appointed the British Representative to Montenegro in the years following the Kosovo War.

• In 2000–2002, Stewart embarked on a long, mostly solo walking journey across Afghanistan, from Herat to Kabul, traveling through remote terrain and living among locals. His travelogue of that journey, The Places in Between (2004), was well-received and won literary awards.

• After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Stewart served in the Coalition Provisional Authority, acting as a deputy governor in the provinces of Maysan and Dhi Qar.

• In Afghanistan again, he founded and led the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, a heritage and development NGO focused on restoring traditional sectors and urban renewal in Kabul.

Through these roles, Stewart combined field experience, cross-cultural insight, and development practice. He also wrote on foreign affairs, geopolitics, and public policy.

Political Career & Offices Held

Entry into Parliament & Early Roles

Stewart entered electoral politics in 2010, being elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Penrith and The Border in Cumbria (North West England). He served as MP from 6 May 2010 to 6 November 2019.

In Parliament he held several roles:

• He was a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, then Chair of the Defence Select Committee (2014–2015).

• Under David Cameron’s government, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (2015–2016), overseeing water, rural affairs, environment, etc.

• In Theresa May’s administration, he became Minister of State for International Development, then for Africa, and later Minister of Prisons & Probation.

• In May 2019, he joined the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development.

Leadership Bid, Departure, and Post-Parliament Life

In 2019, following Theresa May’s resignation, Stewart launched a bid to become Leader of the Conservative Party (and thus Prime Minister). His campaign was notable for eschewing standard Westminster media strategies; instead, he walked across parts of Britain, engaging directly with citizens (“RoryWalks”) and shared that via social media.

However, he did not gain sufficient traction. When Boris Johnson became leader, Stewart resigned from his Cabinet post, and in September 2019 had the Conservative whip removed after voting in favor of parliamentary control to block a no-deal Brexit. In October 2019, Stewart announced his intention to leave the party and stand down at the next election.

After leaving Parliament, Stewart shifted to academia, writing, and public commentary:

• He co-hosts the political podcast The Rest Is Politics with Alastair Campbell.

• He has held fellowships with Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, teaching politics and grand strategy.

• In 2023, he published his memoir Politics on the Edge (U.S. title: How Not to Be a Politician), reflecting on his political journey and critiquing modern British political culture.

Thus, Stewart’s political career is characterized by ambition, independent thinking, and a restlessness with entrenched partisanship.

Legacy & Influence

Rory Stewart’s influence is less about long tenure than about the ideas, style, and example he set — as someone who tried to bridge policy, moral reflection, and lived experience.

• Bridging worlds: His transition from diplomacy and field work into elected politics allowed him to bring ground-level insight into policy debates.

• Authenticity in politics: His rejection of typical political grandstanding and his emphasis on honest, incrementalism appeals to those disillusioned with partisanship.

• New model of political engagement: His use of walking tours, direct conversation, and digital storytelling in the leadership bid showed alternate routes of connection.

• Critical voice: Through his writings and speaking, Stewart calls out the decline of political standards, excessive centralization, and the hollowing out of public institutions.

• Mentorship & teaching: In academia and public life, he continues to shape debates on governance, strategy, and public service.

His legacy is still unfolding — by name, he may not hold a perpetual seat in history books like long-serving prime ministers, but his example as a “politician as public intellectual” shifts expectations of what politics can be.

Personality, Values & Style

Stewart is known for intellectual rigor, curiosity, and a certain literary sensibility. He is multilingual, widely read, and draws often on history, philosophy, and geography in his thinking.

He often frames politics as a moral question rather than blunt power struggle — for Stewart, institutions, character, and honesty matter as much as ideology.

Critics and supporters alike note that he can appear contrarian or even aloof — not fitting neatly into party expectations. But in a political climate marked by polarization, that very quality is part of his appeal to many.

In a 2024 speech at the Hay Festival, Stewart spoke openly of the burden of political life, calling being a politician “very yucky,” confessing suspicion about always feeling like a fraud, and describing the strain of trying to be present everywhere at once.

Selected Famous Quotes

Here are several notable quotes from Rory Stewart that reflect his thought and voice:

“The question shouldn’t be what we ought to do, but what we can do.”

“Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity. And part of that activity is honesty.”

“Despite the dubious statistics … democracy is a thing of value for which we should be fighting.”

“I found incredible kindness, dignity and hospitality in both Iraq and Afghanistan — am only alive because of it … the most worthwhile lesson … was a deepening appreciation of the kindness of strangers.”

“The world isn’t one way or another. Things can be changed very, very rapidly by someone with sufficient confidence, sufficient knowledge and sufficient authority.”

“Being a backbench MP is a bit of an anti-climax for a superhero.”

“Politics feels, on what I have seen of it, like joining a tribe, and a lot of it is about unspoken ways of behaving.”

These quotations reveal recurring themes: the tension between idealism and possibility, belief in democracy as action, the impact of human kindness, and reflections on power and identity.

Lessons from Rory Stewart

From Rory Stewart’s life one can draw several instructive lessons:

1. Engage with humility
   Stewart exemplifies that one can enter politics not as a high-flown ideologue preparing to conquer, but as someone grounded in field experience, willing to listen and learn.

2. Incrementalism over grandiosity
   His insistence on “what we can do” rather than sweeping plans emphasizes modest, achievable steps as more sustainable political strategy.

3. Courage in independence
   He stepped away from party orthodoxy, risked political capital, and refused alignment when it conflicted with principle. That kind of political bravery is rare.

4. Bridge worlds—policy and lived experience
   His diplomatic work, walks, and on-the-ground projects fed his policy thinking. Politicians benefit when they don’t stay cloistered from real suffering, places, and people.

5. Keep the moral dimension alive
   For Stewart, politics is not just about administration but about character, institutional integrity, dialogue, and the public good.

6. Speak truthfully about political cost
   His open reflections on the psychic toll of politics, feeling of fraudulence, and disillusionment give a real-time counterbalance to political glamor.

Conclusion

Rory Stewart is a distinctive figure in recent British public life: part diplomat, part explorer, part politician, part writer. His journey is defined not by decades in power, but by refusal to settle, by courage to dissent, and by insistence that politics remain about service, ideas, and moral ambition.

His public career may have paused in Westminster, but through writing, teaching, podcasting, and engagement, Stewart continues to push for a politics less about personalities and more about purpose. If you like, I can also compile a detailed annotated bibliography of his books (and their takeaways), or a deeper analysis of Politics on the Edge. Which would you prefer?