# Colin Crooks > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Colin_Crooks > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Colin_Crooks.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Crooks > Source revision: 1349321833 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{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](/source/His_Excellency) | name = | image = Colin Crooks.jpg | honorific_suffix = [LVO](/source/Royal_Victorian_Order) | order = | office = [British Ambassador to South Korea](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_South_Korea) | monarch = [Elizabeth II](/source/Elizabeth_II)
[Charles III](/source/Charles_III) | prime_minister = [Boris Johnson](/source/Boris_Johnson)
[Liz Truss](/source/Liz_Truss)
[Rishi Sunak](/source/Rishi_Sunak)
[Keir Starmer](/source/Keir_Starmer) | term_start = March 2022 | term_end = | predecessor = [Simon Smith](/source/Simon_Smith_(diplomat)) | successor = | order2 = | office2 = [British Ambassador to North Korea](/source/Embassy_of_the_United_Kingdom%2C_Pyongyang) | monarch2 = [Elizabeth II](/source/Elizabeth_II) | prime_minister2 = [Theresa May](/source/Theresa_May)
[Boris Johnson](/source/Boris_Johnson) | term_start2 = December 2018 | term_end2 = December 2021 | predecessor2 = [Alastair Morgan](/source/Alastair_Morgan) | successor2 = [David Ellis](/source/David_Ellis_(diplomat)) | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1969|2|18}} | birth_place = [Dungannon](/source/Dungannon), [Northern Ireland](/source/Northern_Ireland), [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge) | father = | spouse = Young-kee Crooks | children = 2 | caption = Crooks in 2017 }} '''Colin James Crooks''' [LVO](/source/Royal_Victorian_Order) (born 18 February 1969) is a [British](/source/British_people) [diplomat](/source/His_Majesty's_Diplomatic_Service) serving as the [British Ambassador to the Republic of Korea](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_South_Korea) since 2022. He was born in [County Tyrone](/source/County_Tyrone), Northern Ireland, and read French and German at [Cambridge University](/source/University_of_Cambridge).{{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}}{{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}} He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1992. Previously he served as [British Ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_North_Korea) from December 2018 to December 2021.{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/colin-crooks |title=Colin Crooks |publisher=[HM Government](/source/Her_Majesty's_Government)|access-date=30 August 2020}} Prior to serving as the Ambassador to the [DPRK](/source/Democratic_People's_Republic_of_Korea), Crooks served in various other positions in [Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service](/source/His_Majesty's_Diplomatic_Service), and was the Minister Counsellor at the [British Embassy Beijing](/source/Embassy_of_the_United_Kingdom%2C_Beijing) from 2015 to 2018 and the ChargĂ© d'Affairs to the British Embassy in [Pyongyang](/source/Pyongyang) in 2008. In May 2020, Crooks announced via [Twitter](/source/Twitter) that the Pyongyang embassy had been evacuated as a result of the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic).{{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](/source/Reuters)|access-date=2 September 2020}} ==Sources== {{reflist}} {{s-start}} {{s-dip}} {{s-bef|before=[Alastair Morgan](/source/Alastair_Morgan)}} {{s-ttl|title=[British Ambassador to North Korea](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_North_Korea)|years=2018–2021}} {{s-aft |after=[James Hoare](/source/James_Hoare)}} {{s-bef |before=[Simon Smith](/source/Simon_Smith_(diplomat))}} {{s-ttl |title=[British Ambassador to South Korea](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_Kingdom_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 {{UK-diplomat-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Colin Crooks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Crooks) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Crooks?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.