Sir Olly Robbins | |
---|---|
Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs Head of HM Diplomatic Service | |
Assumed office 8 January 2025 | |
Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
Foreign Secretary | David Lammy |
Preceded by | Sir Philip Barton |
Chief Negotiator for Exiting the European Union | |
In office 18 September 2017 – 24 July 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May |
Preceded by | David Davis[1][2] |
Succeeded by | David Frost |
Prime Minister's Europe Adviser | |
In office 18 September 2017 – 24 July 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May |
Preceded by | Oliver Letwin (2016) |
Succeeded by | David Frost |
In office 24 June 2016 – 11 July 2016 Serving with Oliver Letwin | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Tom Scholar |
Succeeded by | Oliver Letwin |
Permanent Secretary for the Department for Exiting the European Union | |
In office July 2016 – 18 September 2017 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May |
Brexit Secretary | David Davis |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Philip Rycroft |
Second Permanent Secretary for the Home Office | |
In office September 2015 – June 2016 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Home Secretary | Theresa May |
Succeeded by | Patsy Wilkinson |
Director-General of the Civil Service | |
In office January 2014 – September 2015 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Katherine Kerswell |
Succeeded by | Simon Claydon |
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
In office 27 June 2006 – 11 September 2007 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Blair Gordon Brown |
Preceded by | Ivan Rogers |
Succeeded by | Tom Scholar |
Personal details | |
Born | Lambeth, London, England | 20 April 1975
Spouse |
Sherry Birkbeck (m. 2005) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Colfe's School |
Alma mater | Hertford College, Oxford |
Occupation | Civil servant |
Sir Oliver Robbins KCMG CB (born 20 April 1975) is a senior British civil servant who served as the Prime Minister's Europe Adviser and the chief Brexit negotiator from 2017 to 2019 and currently serves as the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office since 2025. He was a controversial figure among Brexit supporters for his perceived pro-European stance.[3] He previously served as the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union from July 2016 to September 2017, and as the Prime Minister's Advisor on Europe and Global Issues from June 2016 to July 2016. Between 2019 and 2025, he has been an investment advisor at Goldman Sachs.
Before his roles relating to the European Union, Robbins had served as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister and Second Permanent Secretary for the Home Office.