About Sir Robert

Robert Buckland Profile

RT HON SIR ROBERT BUCKLAND KBE KC

Robert Buckland has enjoyed a distinguished career in politics and law in the United Kingdom.  He has been the Third Church Estates Commissioner since 2025, is a practising barrister at Foundry Chambers and is a member of the DAC Beachcroft Policy Unit.  Sir Robert was appointed a Visiting Professor in Practice at LSE Law School in 2025.  In 2026, he was commissioned by the Home Secretary to lead an Independent Review into the murder of Sir David Amess MP.

Born in Llanelli, Wales, Sir 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.  Sir 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, he was appointed as a part-time Crown Court Circuit Judge, serving until his appointment to Government.  He took silk in 2014. and practised in the Court of Appeal and High Court as Solicitor General. 

Sir 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.  He stood for both Westminster and the European Parliament during the 1990s and in 2010, he was elected Member of Parliament for the South Swindon constituency, being re-elected in 2015, 2017 and 2019.  He left Parliament at the July 2024 General Election.

In the Commons, Sir Robert served on the Justice Select Committee, the Standards Committee and the Joint Committee on Human Rights.  He was Secretary of the 1922 Committee of Conservative Backbenchers from 2012 to 2014 and chaired the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission.  As a backbencher, Sir Robert campaigned on issues such as autism, special educational needs and reform of the laws of domestic abuse and stalking. 

In 2014,Sir Robert joined the UK Government as Solicitor General.  In May 2019, Sir Robert became Minister of State for Prisons & Probation and in July 2019, he was sworn of the Privy Council and entered the Cabinet as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, serving until September 2021.  In July 2022, he returned to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Wales and served until October 2022.  Sir Robert chaired the Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee from 2023-24.

Sir Robert chaired the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Autism, Learning Disability, Domestic Violence & Abuse and the Western Gateway Economic Partnership.  He is a Master of the Bench at Inner Temple, and was awarded the KBE in the 2022 New Year Honours.   He is a Trustee of the Michael Sieff Foundation and a Director of the Tory Reform Group.  He was Senior Counsel at Payne Hicks Beach Solicitors from 2023 to 2026. Sir Robert was a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at Harvard Kennedy School from 2023 to 2025, where he authored two Research papers on the impact of AI and machine learning on the administration and practice of justice.  

Sir Robert lectures and speaks regularly on issues relating to law, justice, AI and ethics.  He is a regular contributor to national media, appearing on TV, radio and writing articles and making comments in national newspapers.  He has contributed to a number of books, including The Prime Ministers, The Presidents, Kings & Queens, The Dictators, The Generals, British General Elections 1930-2019 and Famous By-Elections.

He enjoys choral music, opera, jazz, classical music and musical theatre.  He is a passionate supporter of Wales Rugby, Llanelli Scarlets, Swindon Town FC, Arsenal FC and MCC and England & Wales Cricket.