Interview with Mark Robinson: Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Mark Robinson, conducted 17 July 2013 and 8 August 2013 as part of the Commonwealth Oral History Project. The project aims to produce a unique digital research resource on the oral history of the Commonwealth since 1965 through sixty oral history interviews with leading figures in the recent history of the organisation. It will provide an essential research tool for anyone investigating the history of the Commonwealth and will serve to promote interest in and understanding of the organisation. Biography: Robinson, Mark. 1946- . Born in Bristol, England. Educated at the University of Oxford. Special Assistant, United Nations Emergency Relief Operation to Bangladesh. Served the United Nations, New York, in the Office of the Under-Secretary General and the Office of the Secretary General (Kurt Waldheim). Assistant Director, Office of the Commonwealth Secretary General (Sir Shridath Ramphal), 1977-83. Conservative Member of Parliament for Newport West, 1983-87, and Somerton and Frome, 1992-97. Appointed to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in the government of Margaret Thatcher. Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Overseas Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary. Member of the Board, Commonwealth Development Corporation, 1988-92. Chair, Commonwealth Consortium for Education