Sentamu, John Tucker Mugabi (1949– )

Ugandan-born Anglican cleric, archbishop of York from 2005. He was ordained in 1979 and rose through the Church of England ranks to become bishop of Stepney in 1996 and then of Birmingham in 2002. A campaigner against racism, he worked on inquiries into the killings in London of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993 (see Stephen Lawrence case)and of Nigerian schoolboy Damilola Taylor in 2000. He was also involved in initiatives against poverty in Stepney and against gun crime in Birmingham.

Born into a large family near Kampala in Uganda, he trained initially in law and practised as a high court advocate before his criticism of dictator Idi Amin forced his exile to the UK in 1974. He studied for the priesthood and, following his ordination, became assistant chaplain at Selwyn College in Cambridge. He was then chaplain at a remand centre and curate in Southwark in London until 1982, after which he served in a succession of London parishes leading to his appointment as a bishop in 1996 and as archbishop in 2005. He was the first ethnic minority archbishop, the second-highest position in the Church of England.