Robert Andrew Burns

Sir Robert Andrew Burns (born 21 July 1943) is a British former diplomat in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Early life Burns was born on 21 July 1943 and educated at Highgate School. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, with a Master of Arts (MA). He later became Head of South Asia Department between 1986 and 1988. He was later appointed as British Consul General to Hong Kong and Macao, serving between 1997 and 2000.

Subsequent career In June 2005, Burns was appointed to the BBC's Board of Governors as International Governor, replacing Dame Pauline Neville-Jones.

In June 2010, he was appointed the United Kingdom's first Envoy for post-Holocaust issues. He held this post until September 2015. He was succeeded in the role by Sir Eric Pickles.

He was Chair of Council of Royal Holloway, a constituent college of the University of London.

Burns was also previously Chairman of the China Association between 2008 and 2014 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA).