Robin Renwick, Baron Renwick of Clifton

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Robin William Renwick, Baron Renwick of Clifton, KCMG (born 13 December 1937) is a former diplomat and a former member of the House of Lords. He was originally appointed by Prime Minister Blair as a Labour Peer but moved to the crossbenches in 2007. He retired from the House in 2018.

Lord Renwick was educated at St Paul's School and graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1962 with a Master of Arts in history. He further studied at the Sorbonne.

From 1956 to 1958 he completed national service in the British Army. In 1963 he entered the British Foreign Service and had the postings detailed below.

Renwick was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1980 New Year Honours^[1] and was promoted to Knight Commander (KCMG) in the 1989 New Year Honours.^[2]

He was recommended for a life peerage and created Baron Renwick of Clifton, of Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, on 26 September 1997.^[3]

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Diplomatic service:

• Dakar, Senegal, 1963–64
• Foreign Office, 1964–66
• New Delhi, 1966–70
• Private Secretary to Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 1970–72
• First Secretary, Paris, 1972–76
• Counsellor, Cabinet Office, 1976–78
• Head of Rhodesia Department, FCO, 1978–80
• Political Adviser to Governor of Rhodesia, 1980
• Head of Chancery, Washington, 1981–84
• Assistant Under-Secretary of State for European affairs, FCO, 1984–87. Helped to negotiate the 1984 UK rebate, a two-thirds reduction in the British financial contribution to the European Communities

Ambassador to:

• South Africa, 1987–91; involved in the release of Nelson Mandela
• United States, 1991–95

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Lord Renwick has served on the board of directors of the following firms:

• BHP
• British Airways
• Richemont
• Fluor Corporation
• Harmony Gold
• Kazakhmys
• SABMiller

He also served as Deputy Chairman, Robert Fleming Bank, then Deputy Chairman, Fleming Family and Partners

• Vice-chairman, JP Morgan Europe
• Vice-chairman, JP Morgan Cazenove (previously Cazenove)
• Excelsior Mining Corp.

He currently serves as

• Chairman, Advisory Board, Stonehage Fleming
• Senior Adviser, Richemont
• Advisory Board, Appian Capital
• Director, Excelsior Mining
• Chairman, Kropz plc

• A True Statesman: George H. W. Bush and the ‘Indispensable Nation’ (London: Biteback Publishing, 2023) ISBN 9781785907845
• Not Quite A Diplomat: A Memoir(London: Biteback Publishing, 2019) ISBN 9781785904592
• How to Steal a Country: State Capture and Hopes for the Future in South Africa(London: Biteback Publishing, 2018) ISBN 9781785903618
• Fighting With Allies: America and Britain in Peace and War(London: Biteback Publishing, 2016) ISBN 9781849549790
• The End of Apartheid Diary of a Revolution(London: Biteback Publishing, 2015) ISBN 9781849548656
• Helen Suzman Bright Star In A Dark Chamber(London: Biteback Publishing, 2014) ISBN 9781849546676
• A Journey with Margaret Thatcher(London: Biteback Publishing, 2013) ISBN 9781849545334
• Economic Sanctions

The Rhodesia Settlement (De-Classified), Foreign & Commonwealth Office 2021

Robin Renwick, Not Quite a Diplomat (Memoir) Biteback Publishing 2019

Ann Bracken, "How to break into the White House", Biteback Publishing 2021

• Interview with Robin William, Lord Renwick & transcript, British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, Churchill College, Cambridge, 1998