Sir Robert Buckland has enjoyed a distinguished career in politics and law in the United Kingdom. He was first elected to Parliament in 2010, and in 2014, Robert joined the UK Government as Solicitor General. In May 2019, Robert became Minister of State for Prisons & Probation and in July 2019, he entered the Cabinet as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, serving until September 2021. In July 2022, Robert returned to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Wales and served until October 2022.
Born in Llanelli, Wales in 1968, Robert graduated in Law at Hatfield College, Durham University in 1990. At Durham he was President of the Union and Secretary of Hatfield Junior Common Room. Robert was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1991 and was an advocacy prize winner. He then spent nearly twenty years in practice, specialising in criminal litigation. He was a member of the Attorney-General’s List of Prosecuting Counsel from 1999 to 2010. In 2009, Robert was appointed as a part-time Crown Court Circuit Judge, serving until his appointment to Government.
Robert’s political career began in the 1987 General Election, when he was a constituency campaign manager. In 1993, he was elected as a County Councillor for his home area, beating the Labour candidate by three votes. Robert stood for both Westminster and the European Parliament during the 1990s and since 2010 was re-elected Member of Parliament for the South Swindon constituency three times.
In the Commons, Robert served on the Justice Select Committee, the Standards Committee and the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and was elected Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee in 2023. Robert was Secretary of the 1922 Committee of Conservative Backbenchers from 2012 to 2014 and chaired the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission. As a backbencher, Robert chaired a number of All Party Groups and campaigned on issues such as autism, special educational needs and reform of the laws of domestic abuse and stalking.
Robert is a Master of the Bench at Inner Temple, and was awarded the KBE in the 2022 New Year Honours. He is a practising barrister at Foundry Chambers in London and is Senior Counsel at Payne Hicks Beach Solicitors. He is a member of the Policy Unit at DAC Beachcroft solicitors. For 2023 and 2024, Robert is a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at Harvard Kennedy School.
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