Robin Anthony Barnett CMG (born 8 March 1958) is a British diplomat, who served as the British ambassador to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Early life

Robin Anthony Barnett was born on 8 March 1958 to Bryan Anderson Barnett and Marion Barnett. Barnett attended the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1979.

Career

Barnett joined the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

in 1980.

Ambassador to Romania

Barnett was appointed the

British Ambassador to Romania The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Romania is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in Romania, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in Romania. The official title is ''His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to Romania''. ...

in 2006, and served in this role until 2010.

Ambassador to Poland

Barnett served as the British Ambassador to Poland from 2011 to 2016.

Ambassador to Ireland

He succeeded

Dominick Chilcott Sir Dominick John Chilcott (born 17 November 1959) is a British diplomat who is Ambassador to Turkey. Early life He went to the Catholic independent school, St Joseph's College, Ipswich, later also attended by his brother Martin. He atten ...

as Ambassador to Ireland in 2016.

Personal life

Barnett married his first wife, Debra Marianne Bunt, in 1989. The marriage was dissolved in 1999. Barnett married his second wife, Tesca Marie Osman, in 1999. Barnett has a son and a stepson. He is a supporter of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Barnett had a framed Manchester United jersey, signed by

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...

, on his office wall during his time as ambassador to Ireland.

Honours

He was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the 2006 New Year Honours list.United Kingdom:

References

Living people 1958 births 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ireland Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Poland Alumni of the University of Birmingham Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George {{UK-diplomat-stub