Rory Stewart (full name Roderick James Nugent Stewart, born 3 January 1973) is a prominent British public figure spanning diplomacy, politics, academia, and media [1]. He began his career in the British Army as a second lieutenant in the Black Watch on a short-service commission in 1991, followed by postings as a Foreign Office diplomat in Indonesia (1997–1999) and Montenegro [1]. Between 2000 and 2002, he completed a celebrated 6,000-mile solo walk across Asia, chronicled in his bestselling book The Places in Between [1].

Following the 2003 Iraq invasion, Stewart served as a coalition deputy governor in the southern Iraqi provinces of Maysan and Dhi Qar, an experience detailed in his book Occupational Hazards [1]. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2004 for his services in Iraq [1]. He founded the Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Kabul to restore historic areas and traditional crafts, and later held academic positions at Harvard Kennedy School, including director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy.

Stewart entered Parliament as Conservative MP for Penrith and The Border in 2010 [1]. He held several ministerial roles: Minister of State for Prisons, jointly Minister of State for the Department for International Development and Foreign Office, and Secretary of State for International Development (May–July 2019). He chaired the House of Commons Defence Select Committee. In 2019, he ran for Conservative Party leadership but was eliminated in the fifth ballot. He had the party whip removed in September 2019 after voting against the government on Brexit-related business and subsequently left Parliament [1].

Stewart is now Brady-Johnson Professor of Grand Strategy at Yale University's Jackson School of Global Affairs [2] and recently served as President of GiveDirectly (2022–2024). He is widely known as co-host of the popular podcast The Rest Is Politics with Alastair Campbell, launched in 2022. His prolific writing includes memoirs, policy analysis, and essays for outlets including the New York Review of Books. His 2023 memoir Politics on the Edge became a Sunday Times bestseller [1].