Sir Robin John Taylor McLaren (14 August 1934 – 20 July 2010Leung, Ambrose (23 July 2010). "OBITUARY – Robin McLaren, 1934–2010: The diplomat who helped smooth a path for Hong Kong's handover", ''South China Morning Post'') was a British diplomat.

Education

Robin McLaren was educated at

Ardingly College Ardingly College () is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located near Ardingly, West Sussex, England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Woodard Corp ...

, a boarding

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

for boys (now co-educational), in the village of

Ardingly Ardingly ( ) is an English village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. The village is in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty about south of London and east-north-east of the county town of Chiche ...

(near

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, Crawl ...

) in

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, followed by

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, and the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

Life and career

McLaren was Chairman of Governors at

, where the McLaren Library is named after him. He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

from 1953 to 1955, and entered the Foreign Service in 1958. He held a range of diplomatic posts between 1958 and 1994, including being Assistant Private Secretary to

Sir Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

between 1963 and 1964. He went on to serve as British Ambassador to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

between 1985 and 1987. He was senior British representative on the

Sino-British Joint Liaison Group Sino-British Joint Liaison Group () or simply Joint Liaison Group was a meeting group formed in 1985 between the Governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the People's Republic of China after signing of Sino–B ...

between 1987 and 1989, and British Ambassador to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

between 1991 and 1994. He was made in 1991, having been made CMG in 1982.

Honours

Knight Commander 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) - 1991

References

Sir Robin McLaren
obituary, ''The Telegraph'', 29 July 2010

External links

Interview with Sir Robin John Taylor McLaren

transcript
British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1996 1934 births 2010 deaths People educated at Ardingly College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of SOAS University of London Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Philippines Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to China Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Bachelor Deaths from cancer in England {{UK-diplomat-stub