Laura Juliet Kuenssberg is a Scottish journalist, who in July 2015 was appointed as the political editor of British Broadcasting Corporation News, the first woman to hold the position, in succession to Nick Robinson.
Background
The daughter of Scottish businessman Nick Kuenssberg, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and his wife Sally Kuenssberg, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, her paternal grandfather was the German-born Doctor Ekkehard von Kuenssberg, a founder and president of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Kuenssberg was born in Italy, while her father was assigned there by Coats Viyella. She grew up in Glasgow, with her brother and sister, and attended Laurel Bank School, an independent girls" school.
Education
Kuenssberg studied history at the University of Edinburgh, followed by a journalism course at Georgetown University in Washington District of Columbia, where she worked on an National Broadcasting Company News political programme.
Career
Her maternal grandfather was Lord Robertson who was a High Court of Justiciary judge. After returning to United Kingdom, she worked for local radio and then cable television in Glasgow, before joining British Broadcasting Corporation North East and Cumbria in March 2000. Kuenssberg reported for Channel 4 News prior to moving to the British Broadcasting Corporation. Appointed chief political correspondent for British Broadcasting Corporation News, Kuenssberg reported for British Broadcasting Corporation One bulletins, The Daily Politics and British Broadcasting Corporation News Channel.
In May 2010, her presence was so ubiquitous in the period between the general election and the formation of a coalition government under David Cameron that journalist David Aaronovitch coined the term "Kuenssbergovision".
In September 2011 Kuenssberg took up the newly created role of business editor for Independent Television News and was replaced at British Broadcasting Corporation News by Norman Smith from British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 4. She also contributed towards business reporting on Independent Television"s current affairs strand, Tonight.
On 27 August 2013 she made her debut co-newscasting News at Ten with Alastair Stewart. On 12 November 2013 it was announced that she would leave Independent Television to return to the British Broadcasting Corporation as chief correspondent and a presenter of Newsnight, replacing Gavin Esler in the latter role.
She joined the Newsnight team in February 2014.
In July 2015 she was appointed as the British Broadcasting Corporation"s political editor, the first woman to hold the position. Kuenssberg was involved in arranging for the Labour Member of Parliament Stephen Doughty to publicly announce his resignation as a shadow foreign office minister on the Daily Politics television programme in early January 2016. The incident was the subject of an official complaint from Seumas Milne, the Labour Party"s director of communications, which was rejected by Robbie Gibb, the British Broadcasting Corporation"s head of live political programmes.
