With his appointment as Archbishop of York, John Sentamu becomes the first black Anglican archbishop. Nick Morrison profiles the man who survived sickness, famine and persecution to become the second most senior cleric in the Church of England.

IT'S a fair bet that the hallowed cloisters of York Minster will soon be reverberating to the sound of the African drum. John Sentamu has a particular fondness for the music of his childhood, and likes to include it in services at every opportunity. As the new Archbishop of York, he will get the chance to take his beliefs as well as his music onto a bigger stage.

Yesterday's announcement represents an historic milestone for the Church of England. When the Right Reverend John Sentamu arrives at York in the autumn, he will become the first black archbishop in the church's history, and Britain's most senior black clergyman. And this even though he has often described the church as institutionally racist.

It has not been an easy path. He survived the sickness and famine of his childhood to become a leading lawyer in his homeland of Uganda, before his life once again came under threat, this time from political persecution. Once in England, he was on the receiving end of racism, both on the street and within the church.

As Bishop of Stepney in London and then Bishop of Birmingham, he has spoken out against racism, and was a passionate opponent of the war in Iraq. He has also been vocal in his support of the campaign against gun crime, and in support of workers made redundant at MG Rover. Nor has he confined himself to words: his actions have demonstrated that he is prepared to take seriously the role of leadership. He gives one fifth of his salary to the church collection plate.

John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu was born the sixth of 13 children, near Kampala in Uganda in 1949. Weighing just 4lbs at birth, and said by a neighbour to be "smaller than a rat", he was baptised immediately in case he did not survive.

His health problems continued throughout his childhood, worsened by the famine which swept through his homeland, but he survived to study law at Makerere University. After practising as a barrister, he was appointed to the Uganda High Court, but it was there he fell foul of the murderous dictator Idi Amin.

His role as a judge in the dictatorship presented him with uncomfortable dilemmas. He once described how he jailed ten people he knew to be innocent to save them from execution. He also fell into dispute with Amin over the expulsion of Ugandan Asians.

Judge Sentamu was marked down as a dissident, and was arrested and badly beaten by Amin's security services. An armoured personnel carrier was stationed outside his home to prevent him from trying to flee the country.

But in 1974 he was allowed to leave Uganda, after securing a place to read theology at Cambridge University. He was given an exit visa, along with wife Margaret, on condition he did not return.

Despite this, he had intended to return home after completing his degree, but in 1977 his friend and mentor Archbishop Janani Luwum was murdered, and it was this that sealed his ambition to enter the church. He later vowed: "You kill my friend, I take his place."

He was ordained at Cambridge and served as a college chaplain before moving to Holy Trinity Church in Tulse Hill in London. During his 13 years there, he raised £1.6m to restore the church and its organ and increased the size of his congregation tenfold.

But not everyone was welcoming. He recalled how at his first funeral, a man came up to him and asked: "What did my father do to be buried by a black monkey?" His home was also targeted by arsonists linked to the National Front.

His charisma and ideological passion ensured a rapid rise through the church ranks and after 13 years at Tulse Hill he was appointed Bishop of Stepney. It was in this role that he was appointed advisor to the inquiry into the killing of Stephen Lawrence, which branded the Metropolitan Police "institutionally racist".

He later revealed that he was stopped by police as he drove near St Paul's Cathedral. When the officer asked what he did, and he replied he was the Bishop of Stepney, the response was "Whoops". He was also appointed to chair the review into the police investigation into the murder of Damilola Taylor in Peckham, south London, in 2000.

In 2002, he became the Church of England's first black diocesan bishop, when he was appointed Bishop of Birmingham, and one of only two senior ethnic minority bishops, alongside Pakistani-born Michael Nazir-Ali at Rochester.

On arrival in Birmingham, he declared he wanted to be known as the Bishop for Birmingham, rather than of Birmingham, emphasising his desire to work for everyone, regardless of faith, a commitment reiterated yesterday in calling for the Church of England to be "a spiritual home for all English men and women". He also endeared himself to the city by walking to the cathedral alongside the people rather than with the bishops.

Although he has made his name as an anti-racism campaigner, he has played down that reputation, and said it was his faith rather than his colour that was important. He became an outspoken campaigner against gun crime after the murders of Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare outside a Birmingham hairdresser's on New Year's Day 2003, giving out his home telephone number for witnesses. About 200 people called.

He used his inaugural sermon to criticise the "bureaucratic shackles" hindering the education system, and attacked Britain's criminal justice system, claiming it was simplistic based on vengeance rather than reconciliation. This brought him into conflict with victims' groups, but he again proved controversial when he led protests in Birmingham against the war in Iraq, saying there was no moral basis for military action.

The father of two grown-up children, Grace and Geoffrey, he describes his interests as music, cooking, reading, athletics and football. When he appeared on Desert Island Discs last year, he chose a kitchen as his luxury.

Bishop John will become Archbishop of York at a crucial and difficult time for the Church of England, when disputes over gay priests and women bishops are threatening to tear it apart. Yesterday, he called for reconciliation, urging African church leaders not to carry out their threat to break with the rest of the church in protest at the ordination of a gay bishop in the United States.

He describes his preaching as evangelical and his style of worship as catholic and charismatic, and it will take all his abilities as a man who can cross divides to ensure the long-term survival of the church. He has described the state of the Anglican Church as a trough, but insisted this was part of the ebb and flow of churches throughout history.

The church needs to reconnect, he said, but the realisation that material wealth did not necessarily result in happiness provided an opportunity for the church to regain its vision and confidence. When he enters York Minster as Archbishop later this year, he will get the chance to show if he can bridge that divide.