Background
Born in Bristol to John Foster Robinson, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Territorial Decoration, and Margaret, née Paterson, Robinson’s father was High Sheriff of Avon in 1975.
Born in Bristol to John Foster Robinson, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Territorial Decoration, and Margaret, née Paterson, Robinson’s father was High Sheriff of Avon in 1975.
Harrow School; Christ Church College, Oxford University, Master of Arts (Hons), modem history.
John Robinson"s family ran Exact Sciences&A Robinson, the paper and packaging conglomerate that later became Dickinson Robinson Group. Robinson spent six years at the United Nations: at the United Nations Relief Operation to Bangladesh. In the Office of the Under-Secretary General.
And in the Office of the Secretary General, Kurt Waldheim.
From 1977-1983 he was Assistant Director in the Office of the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who was then Sir Shridath Ramphal. Treasurer of the Commonwealth Round Table: the Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.
And a Trustee of Concordia United Kingdom. Because of his background at the he was appointed to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, a position he held until in 1985 when he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Welsh Office, by Margaret Thatcher. He was re-elected in 1992 for the Somerset seat of Somerton and Frome, and was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Overseas Development, Baroness Chalker, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, Douglas Hurd.
He has since served as a Commonwealth election observer.
49th United Kingdom Parliament. 51st United Kingdom Parliament]
Apart from paper, the Robinsons were famous for cricket: Robinson’s grandfather, Sir Foster Robinson, was captain of Gloucestershire. Other members of the family played for, and captained, Gloucestershire.
He is currently: Chairman of the Commonwealth Organisations" Committee on Zimbabwe.
The United Kingdom Chairman of the Commonwealth Consortium for Education. A Council Member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
Honorary Robinson was elected Conservative for the notionally safe Labour seat of Newport West in 1983.
From 1987-1995 he was a Director of Leopold Joseph, the Merchant Bank, and from 1988-1992 he was a Member of the Board of the Commonwealth Development Corporation.
Spouse Vivien Radclyffe Robinson (née Pilkington), 1982. Children: one son, one d.