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

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Age: 62 Years
Religion: Christianity
Hometown: Kolkata

Derek O’Brien addressing a press conference

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)Politician, Quiz Master, Author
Famous ForConducting children quiz shows throughout the world
Physical Stats & More
Eye ColourGreen
Hair ColourSalt & Pepper
Politics
Political PartyAll India Trinamool Congress
All India Trinamool Congress Logo
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 Birth13 March 1961 (Monday)
Age (as of 2023) 62 Years
BirthplaceKolkata, West Bengal
Zodiac signPisces
SignatureDerek O’Brien's Signature
NationalityIndian
HometownKolkata, West Bengal
School• St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Kolkata
• St.Columba's School, Delhi
College/UniversityScottish Church College, Kolkata
Educational QualificationBachelor of Arts [2]My Neta
ReligionChristianity [3]The Indian Express
Food HabitNon-Vegetarian [4]Financial Express
Address158, 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.
Derek O'Brein trying to tear parliament's rule book

• 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 StatusMarried
Family
Wife/SpouseFirst Wife: Rila Banerjee (ex-wife; m.1991)
Second Wife: Dr. Tonuca Basu (m.2006- present)
Derek O’Brien with his wife, Dr Tonuca Basu
ChildrenDaughter- Aanya (From his first wife Rila Chaterjee)

Note: He has two children.
ParentsFather- Neil O’Brien
Mother- Joyce O'Brien
Derek O'Brein's family
SiblingsBrother(s)--Barry O'Brien, Andy O'Brien
Money Factor
Salary (approx.)Rs. 1,00,000 per month [7]Rajya Sabha
Assets/PropertiesNon-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

Derek O’Brien

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 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'Brein's father, Neil O'Brein, conducting a quiz competition

    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

    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

    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’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"

    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.”