Born in Hong Kong in 1973, Rory Stewart has strong Scottish roots, with an ancestral home called Broich House near Crieff and a father who was born in Edinburgh.
The former Conservative MP had a varied and fascinating career before entering politics, working in foreign affairs, focused on military intervention and international development.
Educated at Eton and Oxford University, a short stint as an infantry officer for the Black Watch prior to university was followed by roles in the UK Diplomatic Service after graduating, serving in Jakarta, as British representative to Montenegro, and as the coalition Deputy-Governor of two provinces in the Marsh Arab region of Southern Iraq.
On leaving the Foreign Service he walked for 21 months across Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal, turning his experiences into a New York Times bestselling book.
From 2005 to 2008 he was the Chair and Chief Executive of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation based in Kabul, Afghanistan, focussing on restoring a section of the old city, establish a clinic, primary school, and Arts Institute, and bring Afghan crafts to international markets.
A move to academia followed, when he accepted the position of Ryan Family Professor of the Practice of Human Rights and Director of the Carr Centre of Human Rights at Harvard University.
He joined the Conservative Party in 2009, becoming MP for the Penrith and The Border constituency in the 2010 General Election.
His political career saw him serve a number of roles, including Secretary of State for International Development, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, Minister for the Environment and Rural Affairs at DEFRA, Chair of the Defence Select Committee, and spent four years on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
In two rare defeats, he unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of London and as Conservative Party Leader, when he was defeated by Boris Johnson.
His opposition to a no-deal Brexit meant he lost the Conservative whip, leading to him resigning from the Conservative Party and stand down as an MP in 2019.
Since then he's launched the hugely-successful 'The Rest is Politics' podcast with Alastair Campbell.
Here are 13 of the many interesting things he's said over the years.
1. Rory Stewart on...democracy
"Democracy matters because it reflects an idea of equality and an idea of liberty. It reflects an idea of dignity, the dignity of the individual, the idea that each individual should have an equal vote, an equal say, in the formation of their government."
2. Rory Stewart on...his childhood
"When my father was posted to Malaysia, we'd take bacon-and-egg sandwiches in our backpacks and go hiking in the jungle or make bamboo rafts to sail down rivers."
3. Rory Stewart on...Boris Johnson
"He was manifestly unsuited to be prime minister from the beginning, so it’s very, very disturbing that a great country like Britain should have chosen somebody so unsuitable for the role.”
4. Rory Stewart on...Boris Johnson (again)
‘I feel weirdly sorry for him and guilty about how much I feel I have to attack him. He’s a truly monstrous figure, a figure from a morality tale: his appetites, his lies – it’s all so unreal. But I also feel the tragedy of it, what an awful life he’s leading…I think he finds it impossible to tell the truth."