Apple chief executive Tim Cook has
publicly acknowledged his sexuality,
saying that he is "proud to be
gay".
Mr Cook made his announcement to try
to help people struggling with their
identity, he wrote in a Bloomberg
Businessweek article.
He has been open about his
sexuality, but has also tried to
maintain a basic level of privacy
until now, he said.
This week Mr Cook challenged his
home state of Alabama to ensure the
rights of gay and transgender
people.
Privacy trade-off
"While I have never denied my
sexuality, I haven't publicly
acknowledged it either, until now,"
he wrote.
Former BP chief executive Lord
Browne says Mr Cook is "an important
role model"
"So let me be clear: I'm proud to
be gay, and I consider being gay
among the greatest gifts God has
given me," he added.
He said he didn't consider himself
an activist, but that he realised he
had "benefited from the sacrifice of
others."
"So if hearing that the CEO [chief
executive] of Apple is gay can help
someone struggling to come to terms
with who he or she is, or bring
comfort to anyone who feels alone,
or inspire people to insist on their
equality, then it's worth the
trade-off with my own privacy," he
added.
Mr Cook said that he had been open
about his sexuality with many
people, including colleagues at
Apple, but that it still "wasn't an
easy choice" to publicly announce
his sexual orientation.
He quoted civil rights campaigner
Martin Luther King, saying: "Life's
most persistent and urgent question
is, 'What are you doing for
others?' "
Analysis
Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC News
technology correspondent
Tim Cook's announcement may come as
no surprise in Silicon Valley or
across corporate America.
But that does not mean that we
should underestimate the
significance of the leader of the
world's most valuable company
talking openly about his sexuality.
Back in May, a piece in the New
York Times asked "where are the gay
chief executives?" and struggled to
name any openly gay CEOs at
America's 1,000 biggest companies.
Apple under Steve Jobs was not a
company that took a stand on any
issues which were not seen as
relevant to its business.
Tim Cook has been more forthcoming
on all sorts of issues, including
equal rights for gay workers, and
while he says he does not see
himself as an activist, that is how
many will now see him.
That could embroil him in
controversy in the United States,
let alone in other parts of the
world with less liberal views of
sexuality.
Mr Cook admitted that going public
as a gay man was not an easy choice
- but it certainly looks a
courageous one.
This week Mr Cook referred to Martin
Luther King in a speech in Alabama
in which he called for equal rights
for people based on sexual
orientation and identity.
He said that Alabama had been too
slow to ensure the rights of ethnic
minorities in the civil rights era,
and was now being too slow to
guarantee gay rights.
"Under the law, citizens of Alabama
can still be fired based on their
sexual orientation," Mr Cook said.
"We can't change the past, but we
can learn from it and we can create
a different future."
Mr Cook has championed equality at
Apple, but in August said he was
"not satisfied" with workforce
diversity at the company.
Outstanding, a not-for-profit
professional network for lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
executives, said on Thursday that
many LGBT people in the UK felt it
was "safer to stay in the closet"
when at work.
In May a US study by LGBT
organisation Human Rights Campaign
suggested that 53% of US LGBT
employees had not come out at work.
'Role model'
Former BP chief executive Lord
Browne, who now chairs fracking
company Cuadrilla, said Mr Cook had
become a role model.
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