Derek O’Brien Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)	Politician, Quiz Master, Author
Famous For	Conducting children quiz shows throughout the world
Physical Stats & More
Eye Colour	Green
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Politics
Political Party	All India Trinamool Congress
Political Journey	• Derek O’Brien entered politics in 2004 by joining the All India Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee. • Soon Derek O’Brien was appointed as the spokesperson of Trinamool Congress and later nominated as Rajya Sabha member in 2011 when Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress came to power in West Bengal. • O’Brien was the first person among elected Anglo-Indian members to cast a vote to choose the President of India. • Derek O'Brien had chaired the 'Transport' and 'Tourism & Culture' Department's Parliamentary Standing Committee from 2017 to 2019. • He is a member of many parliamentary committees in the current term (2017-2023) such as the Business Advisory Committee, General Purposes Committee, Transport Committee, Tourism and Culture Committee, Human Resource Development Committee, and Ethics Committee. • Derek O'Brien took the honour of addressing the United Nations General Assembly being a part of a delegation of the Indian parliament. • The TMC appointed him the party's national spokesperson in March 2023. [1]NDTV
Personal Life
Date of Birth	13 March 1961 (Monday)
Age (as of 2023)	62 Years
Birthplace	Kolkata, West Bengal
Zodiac sign	Pisces
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Kolkata, West Bengal
School	• St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Kolkata • St.Columba's School, Delhi
College/University	Scottish Church College, Kolkata
Educational Qualification	Bachelor of Arts [2]My Neta
Religion	Christianity [3]The Indian Express
Food Habit	Non-Vegetarian [4]Financial Express
Address	158, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Kolkata 700045
Controversies	• Derek O’Brien was suspended from parliament because of his unparliamentary behaviour on 20 September 2020 during the farm bills passing, as he tried to tear parliament's rule book and created chaos in the parliament. • On 21 December 2021, he was again suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the remaining part of the Winter Session after he allegedly threw the rule book towards the chair. The incident took place when the passage of the electoral reforms bill in the House was going on. the oppositon opposed the linking of electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem as proposed in the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021. [5]India Today • On 8 August 2023, the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar suspended him for the rest of the Monsoon session; however, he let him back into the House less than an hour later. After Mr O'Brien sought to speak under the pretext of raising a point of order under rule 267, the rule under which the opposition had been seeking a discussion on the Manipur issue since the start of the Monsoon session, the Leader of the House and Union Minister Piyush Goyal then moved a motion to suspend Mr O'Brien for the rest of the Monsoon session. Earlier, on 7 August 2023, the chairman accused Mr O'Brien of making "engaging in theatrics" a habit. Dhankhar said, "Your demeanour was ignoble, does not justify the position you hold. You have upset the decorum of the ecosystem....of House. You have done it on purpose." [6]NDTV
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	• First Wife: Rila Banerjee (ex-wife; m.1991) • Second Wife: Dr. Tonuca Basu (m.2006- present)
Children	Daughter- Aanya (From his first wife Rila Chaterjee) Note: He has two children.
Parents	Father- Neil O’Brien Mother- Joyce O'Brien
Siblings	Brother(s)--Barry O'Brien, Andy O'Brien
Money Factor
Salary (approx.)	Rs. 1,00,000 per month [7]Rajya Sabha
Assets/Properties	Non-Agricultural Land worth Rs. 3,65,95,080 Residential Buldings worth Rs. 2,14,80,700 (as of 2016) [8]My Neta
Net Worth (approx.)	Rs. 68,96,549 (as of 2016) [9]My Neta

Some Lesser Known Facts About Derek O’Brien

• Derek O’Brien is an Indian politician and quiz master who is famous for conducting school level quiz competitions throughout the world.
  

  Derek O’Brien during a quiz show

• Derek O’Brien faced sexual molestation when he boarded a crowded bus on his way back home after his tennis practice at the age of 13. ^[10]NDTV

• When Brien was not able to perform well in the eighth standard due to mid-year school change as a result of his father’s transfer from Delhi to Kolkata, her mother celebrated with family over lunch to motivate him and keep his spirits high.

• Derek O’Brien’s grandfather, “Amos O’Brien,” was the first person from his community to serve as the head of the English department at Banaras Hindu University.

• Brien learned about quiz hosting and conducting from his father, Neil O’Brien, who hosted India’s first well organised quiz in 1967 at Kolkata.
  

  Derek O’Brien’s father, Neil O’Brien, conducting a quiz competition

• O’Brien earned the Indian Television Academy Award for Best Host three times in a row from 2003 to 2005.

• He organised quizzes in many countries during his career as a quiz master such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Srilanka, Singapore, Bangladesh, Oman, and the United States.
  

  Derek O’Brien at Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2017

• After a successful career as a quiz master, O’Brien joined the Trinamool Congress in 2004, which was out of power back then.
  

  Derek O’Brien with Mamata Banerjee

• Despite the fact that Derek O’Brien is a well-known leader of the Trinamool Congress, his brother Barry O’Brien is now associated with the BJP.
  

  Derek O’Brien’s brother in a BJP press conference

• Derek O’Brien is also a very fine writer, his novel “Inside Parliament” is one of the best selling novels.
  

  Derek O’Brien’s book “Inside Parliament”

• When questioned about his unruly behaviour and creating chaos in parliament, Derek O’Brien answered that despite the repeated request of many Rajya Sabha members, the resolution for “Farm Bills 2020” was not put to vote. As per his quote,
  

  The chair has to grant you that right, But today, unbelievably, the right was taken away from the opposition. That is a serious breach of parliamentary rules and parliamentary democracy. This is like taking the parliamentary democracy, shoving a knife inside it and killing it. And so, we protested.”