Hugh Robertson (politician)

Last updated

Anna Copson
(m. 2002)
Sir Hugh Robertson
Hugh Robertson Official.jpg
Robertson in 2010
Chairman of the British Olympic Association
Assumed office
24 November 2016
Children1
Education The King's School, Canterbury
Alma mater University of Reading
Website www.hughrobertson.co.uk
Military service
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Branch/serviceFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Years of service1982–1995
Rank Major
Unit The Life Guards

Sir Hugh Michael Robertson KCMG PC DL [1] [2] (born 9 October 1962) is a British businessman and former politician who is the current Chair of the British Olympic Association and of Birmingham Airport. He was Chair of Camelot Group, operator of the National Lottery, between 2018 and 2023.

Contents

He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Faversham and Mid Kent from 2001 to 2015. [3]

He was Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs until July 2014, having previously been the Minister for Sport and for the Olympics. [4]

Education

The King's School, Canterbury The Kings School Canterbury.jpg
The King's School, Canterbury

Robertson was educated at The King's School, Canterbury. He read Land Management at the University of Reading from 1982 to 1985, obtaining a BSc (Hons) degree, before attending the RMA Sandhurst between 1985 and 1986. [4]

In March 2014, Robertson was awarded a Distinguished Fellowship by the University of Reading in recognition of the role he played in the London 2012 Olympics. [5]

Career

Robertson served as an officer in the Life Guards from 1982 to 1995, rising to the rank of Major. Robertson saw active service in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, The Gulf War and served with the UN peacekeeping force UNPROFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina. [4] In 1993, he commanded the Household Cavalary for the Queen's birthday parade at the state opening of Parliament. [6]

From 1995 until 2001, he was a banker with the investment management division of Schroders, then head of new business development for the property division. [7]

Parliamentary career

Robertson was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Faversham and Mid Kent from 2001-2015. [3]

Having shadowed this post in Opposition, he was appointed a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State as the Minister for Sport and the Olympics in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in May 2010. [8]

In September 2012, he was appointed as Minister of State in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as the Minister for Sport, Olympic Legacy Tourism, [3] and was sworn as a Privy Councillor in October. [9] [10]

In October 2013, he was appointed Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. [3]

He stood down from government in the 2014 reshuffle and was knighted for his work as Minister for the Olympics during London 2012 and his work in the Middle East. [11]

In January 2015 Robertson announced that he would stand down from Parliament at the next general election. [12]

Post-Parliamentary appointments

In June 2015, Robertson was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent. [2] In November 2016, he succeeded Sebastian Coe as Chair of the British Olympic Association. [13]

From 2017 to 2023 Robertson served as the Independent Chair of the Sports Honours Committee. [14]

In June 2018, Robertson was announced as the Chair of Camelot Group. [15] He joined Genius Sports as a Board Advisor in May 2022. [16]

In January 2023 Robertson stepped down as Chair of Camelot. [17] In June 2023 he was announced as the new Chair of Birmingham Airport. [18]

Personal life

Robertson married Anna Copson in May 2002. The wedding had to be rescheduled at short notice after the death of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. [6] They have one son. [3]

Honours

Sir Hugh has received the following decorations:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gisela Stuart</span> British-German politician and life peer (born 1955)

Gisela Stuart, Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston is a British-German politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1997 to 2017. A former member of the Labour Party, she now sits as a crossbencher in the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Whittingdale</span> British Conservative politician

Sir John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale is a British Conservative politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Maldon since 1992. He served as Culture Secretary from 2015 to 2016. Whittingdale was most recently Minister of State for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries and Minister of State for Data and Digital Infrastructure from May to December 2023, during the maternity leave of Julia Lopez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Hendry</span> British Conservative Party politician

Charles Hendry is a British Conservative Party politician. Formerly the member of parliament for High Peak between the 1992 and 1997 general elections, he was returned as the MP for Wealden in 2001. In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change and served until 2012. He stood down at the 2015 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsay Hoyle</span> Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 2019

Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle is a British politician who has served as Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019 and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chorley since 1997. Before his election as Speaker, he was a member of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick McLoughlin</span> British Conservative politician

Patrick Allen McLoughlin, Baron McLoughlin, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he first became the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Derbyshire following the 1986 by-election. The constituency became the Derbyshire Dales for the 2010 general election; McLoughlin remained the seat's MP until 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurence Robertson</span> British politician (born 1958)

Laurence Anthony Robertson is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tewkesbury since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he chaired the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee for seven years, from 2010 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Nelson (Australian politician)</span> Australian politician (1833–1906)

Sir Hugh Muir Nelson, was an Australian politician who was Premier of Queensland from 1893 to 1898.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Penning</span> British Conservative politician

Sir Michael Alan Penning is a British Conservative Party politician, who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemel Hempstead since 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Evennett</span> British Conservative politician

Sir David Anthony Evennett is a Conservative politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexleyheath and Crayford at the 2005 general election. Previously he was the MP for Erith and Crayford between the 1983 and 1997 general elections. He served as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from September to October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Luce, Baron Luce</span> British politician

Richard Napier Luce, Baron Luce, is a British politician. He is a former Lord Chamberlain to the Queen, serving from 2000 to 2006, and has been Governor of Gibraltar, a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1971 to 1992, and government minister, and a crossbench member of the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Bates, Baron Bates</span> British politician (born 1961)

Michael Walton Bates, Baron Bates is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom serving in the House of Lords since 2008 having previously represented the constituency of Langbaurgh in the House of Commons from 1992 to 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alok Sharma</span> British Conservative politician

Sir Alok Kumar Sharma is a British Conservative Party politician who served as President for COP26 from 2021 to 2022, having previously served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2020 to 2021 and Secretary of State for International Development from 2019 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading West since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Spencer (British politician)</span> British politician (born 1970)

Sir Mark Steven Spencer is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries since 2022. He previously served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council from February to September 2022 and as Chief Whip from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Sherwood since 2010.

The Honours Committee is a committee within the Cabinet Office of the Government of the United Kingdom formed to review nominations for national honours for merit, exceptional achievement or service. Twice yearly the Honours Committee submits formal recommendations for the British monarch's New Years and Birthday Honours. Members of the Honours Committee—which comprises a main committee and nine subcommittees in speciality areas—research and vet nominations for national awards, including knighthoods and the Order of the British Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Whately</span> British politician (born 1976)

Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Social Care since October 2022, and previously from 2020 to 2021. She also served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Faversham and Mid Kent since 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Kelly School</span> Public School in Tavistock, Devon, England

Mount Kelly School is a co-educational private day and boarding school in the English public school tradition for pupils from 3 to 18, in Tavistock, Devon. The fees are £20,550 – £20,970 pa for day students and £36,780 – £36,960 pa for boarders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Maclean (politician)</span> British Conservative politician

Rachel Helen Maclean is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Redditch in Worcestershire since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, she currently serves as its Deputy Chairman. She has previously served as Minister of State for Housing and Planning and has held ministerial roles in the Department for Transport and Home Office.

The 1924 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were awards announced on 8 February 1924 to mark the exit of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, who resigned his first term as prime minister in late January.

As part of the British honours system, Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative, operational honours, political honours and other honours awarded outside the New Years Honours and Birthday Honours.

References

  1. "No. 59418". The London Gazette . 13 May 2010. p. 8742.
  2. 1 2 "No. 61275". The London Gazette . 24 June 2015. p. 11528.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "MPs and Lords: Sir Hugh Robertson". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Rt Hon Hugh Robertson" . Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  5. "University honours key figures from London Olympics". archive.reading.ac.uk. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  6. 1 2 Assinder, Nick (10 May 2002). "Blair fights on in media battle". BBC News.
  7. Dods Parliamentary Companion
  8. Gibson, Owen (14 May 2010). "Conservative MP Hugh Robertson to be confirmed as new sports minister". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  9. "Privy Council members". privycouncil.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  10. "Scanned Document: Orders Approved At the Privy Council Held by The Queen at Buckingham Palace on 17th October 2012" (PDF). privycouncil.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  11. "AN INTERVIEW WITH THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR HUGH ROBERTSON KCMG DL". The Guards Magazine.
  12. "Hugh Robertson, former Conservative minister, to stand down". BBC News. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  13. "Sir Hugh Robertson to replace Sebastian Coe as BOA chairman". The Guardian. 24 November 2016.
  14. "Guidance - Honours Committees". gov.uk. 5 March 2024.
  15. "Camelot appoints Sir Hugh Robertson as new chairman - Gaming Intelligence". 28 June 2018.
  16. "Former UK Minister for Sport Sir Hugh Robertson joins Genius Sports' Business Advisory Council". Genius Sports Press. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  17. Leader, Alice (25 January 2023). "Camelot CEO and chairman to step down amid management shake-up". The Grocer. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  18. "Birmingham Airport Announces Appointment of New Chairman". Birmingham Airport. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  19. Pingat Indah Kerja Baik
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Faversham and Mid Kent
20012015
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Sport
2010–2013
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
2013–2014
Succeeded by