Mark Noel Foster Robinson (born 26 December 1946) is a former British Conservative politician.
After spending six years at the United Nations (1972–77), he was Assistant Director in the Office of the Commonwealth Secretary-General (1977–83), who was then Sir Shridath Ramphal. Elected to the House of Commons in 1983 for Newport West and in 1992 for Somerton and Frome, he maintained his interest in the Commonwealth, both as a Member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and as Parliamentary Private Secretary first to the Minister for Overseas Development, Baroness Chalker, and then to the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, Lord Hurd. He also served as Her Majesty’s Under Secretary of State for Wales (1983–85).
He was a Member of the Board of the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) 1988-92; Executive Director of the Commonwealth Press Union 1997-2002; Executive Chairman of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth (CEC) 1999-2005; and is presently the UK Chairman of the Commonwealth Consortium for Education (CCfE). He has recently become Deputy Chairman of the Commonwealth Organisations Committee on Zimbabwe. From 1987-1995 he was a Director of Leopold Joseph, the Merchant Bank.
He is also a Council Member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, Hon. Treasurer of the Commonwealth Round Table: the Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, and a Trustee of Concordia (YSV) Ltd., amongst other charities.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Newport West 1983–1987 |
Succeeded by Paul Flynn |
| Preceded by Robert Boscawen |
Member of Parliament for Somerton and Frome 1992–1997 |
Succeeded by David Heath |