1. Oona King was a Labour Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow from 1997 until 2005; and a member of the House of Lords from 2011 to 2024.
26 Facts About Oona King
1. 2.
Oona King was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, to Preston King, an African-American academic, and his Jewish British wife, Hazel King, a social justice activist.
3.
Oona King was educated at Haverstock Comprehensive Secondary School on Crogsland Road in Chalk Farm, London.
4.
Oona King was a contemporary of fellow Labour politicians David Miliband and his younger brother Ed.
5.
Oona King worked as a political assistant to Glyn Ford MEP, the Labour Party Leader in the European Parliament, and later Glenys Kinnock MEP.
6.
Oona King was selected to represent the seat of Bethnal Green and Bow early in 1997.
7.
Oona King emphasised a need for coherence in the strategy for eradicating poverty, and the importance of education in its elimination.
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Oona King served on the international development select committee, and as the vice-chair of the All-Parliamentary Group on Bangladesh.
9.
Oona King was selected to second the Queen's Speech debate in November 2002, where she discussed her views on genocide and a visit to Rwanda.
10.
Oona King served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Minister for e-commerce.
11.
Oona King supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was controversial for her constituency's large Muslim population.
12.
Oona King was responsible for the deaths of one million people.
13.
Oona King said that, whilst her support for the war in Iraq had been a major issue, false claims in the Bangladeshi press that she wanted to get rid of halal meat had played a part in her defeat.
14.
Oona King had said that she would remain in Bethnal Green and Bow with her constituency office funded from the GMB trade union, attempting to act as an unofficial MP.
15.
In January 2009, Oona King was appointed head of diversity at Channel 4.
16.
In 2010, Oona King unsuccessfully challenged Ken Livingstone for the Labour Party nomination in the 2012 election for Mayor of London.
17.
Oona King had the backing of Neil Kinnock, Ben Bradshaw, and Alan Johnson.
18.
On 26 January 2011, Oona King was created a life peer as Baroness Oona King of Bow, of Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
19.
Oona King was introduced in the House of Lords on 31 January 2011, where she sat on the Labour benches.
20.
In 2012, Oona King was elected to the Progress strategy board as a parliamentarian.
21.
In January 2024, Oona King announced that she has left Snap, Inc to join Uber as Chief Diversity And Inclusion Officer.
22.
Oona King retired from the House of Lords on 9 July 2024.
23.
Oona King has made appearances on television shows such as This Week, The Daily Politics, The All Star Talent Show and Have I Got News for You.
24.
Oona King hosted a BBC Two documentary on Martin Luther King Jr.
25.
Oona King made appearances on the new comedic show Jews at Ten on Channel 4,9 October 2012.
26.
In 1994, Oona King married Italian Tiberio Santomarco, while working for an MEP in Brussels.