{{Short description|British Ambassador to the Republic of Korea}} {{BLP sources|date=August 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = His Excellency | name = | image = Colin Crooks.jpg | honorific_suffix = LVO | order = | office = British Ambassador to South Korea | monarch = Elizabeth II<br />Charles III | prime_minister = Boris Johnson<br />Liz Truss<br />Rishi Sunak<br />Keir Starmer | term_start = March 2022 | term_end = | predecessor = Simon Smith | successor = | order2 = | office2 = British Ambassador to North Korea | monarch2 = Elizabeth II | prime_minister2 = Theresa May<br />Boris Johnson | term_start2 = December 2018 | term_end2 = December 2021 | predecessor2 = Alastair Morgan | successor2 = David Ellis | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1969|2|18}} | birth_place = Dungannon, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = University of Cambridge | father = | spouse = Young-kee Crooks | children = 2 | caption = Crooks in 2017 }}
'''Colin James Crooks''' LVO (born 18 February 1969) is a British diplomat serving as the British Ambassador to the Republic of Korea since 2022.
He was born in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and read French and German at Cambridge University.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2021-05-28 |title=Lockdown, karaoke and waving at the secret police: Co Tyrone diplomat Colin Crooks lifts lid on life inside North Korea |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/lockdown-karaoke-and-waving-at-the-secret-police-co-tyrone-diplomat-colin-crooks-lifts-lid-on-life-inside-north-korea/a/115038155.html |access-date=2026-02-12 |work=Belfast Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McClements |first=Freya |title=Ulster diplomat's lessons from North Korea: 'Keep talking' |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/ulster-diplomat-s-lessons-from-north-korea-keep-talking-1.4710076 |access-date=2026-02-12 |website=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref>
He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1992.<ref name=":0" />
Previously he served as British Ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from December 2018 to December 2021.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/colin-crooks |title=Colin Crooks |publisher=HM Government|access-date=30 August 2020}}</ref>
Prior to serving as the Ambassador to the DPRK, Crooks served in various other positions in Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service, and was the Minister Counsellor at the British Embassy Beijing from 2015 to 2018 and the Chargé d'Affairs to the British Embassy in Pyongyang in 2008.<ref name="auto"/>
In May 2020, Crooks announced via Twitter that the Pyongyang embassy had been evacuated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-northkorea-britain/uk-closes-embassy-pulls-diplomats-from-north-korea-over-coronavirus-restrictions-idUKKBN234030 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528022057/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-northkorea-britain/uk-closes-embassy-pulls-diplomats-from-north-korea-over-coronavirus-restrictions-idUKKBN234030 |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 May 2020 |title=UK closes embassy, pulls diplomats from North Korea over coronavirus restrictions |publisher=Reuters|access-date=2 September 2020}}</ref>
==Sources== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-dip}} {{s-bef|before=Alastair Morgan}} {{s-ttl|title=British Ambassador to North Korea|years=2018–2021}} {{s-aft |after=James Hoare}} {{s-bef |before=Simon Smith}} {{s-ttl |title=British Ambassador to South Korea |years=2022–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crooks, Colin}} Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to North Korea Category:Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to South Korea Category:British diplomats in China Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge Category:People from County Tyrone
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