Sir Robert Mark Wainwright KCMG (born 17 September 1967) is a British civil servant. He was the director of

Europol Europol, officially the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, is the law enforcement agency of the European Union (EU). Established in 1998, it is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and serves as the central hub for coordinating c ...

from 16 April 2009 until 1 May 2018.

Education

He was brought up in

Pontyberem Pontyberem () is a village and community situated in the Gwendraeth Valley halfway between Carmarthen and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. As of the 2001 Census, the population was recorded as 2,829, reducing to 2,768 at the 2011 Census. Th ...

and attended Gwendraeth Grammar School. Wainwright was educated at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

graduating with a BSc in 1989.

Career

He then worked for the United Kingdom's Security Service (MI5) as an intelligence analyst. From 2000 to 2003, Wainwright was the UK Management Board member at Europol and a UK Liaison Officer. At the same time, he was Head of the British Europol National Unit in London. In 2003 he was appointed Director of International Affairs of the UK's

National Criminal Intelligence Service The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) was a United Kingdom Law enforcement in the United Kingdom, policing agency. Following the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2001, NCIS returned to direct funding by the Home Office in 2002 and was a ...

(NCIS), where he was responsible for international operations and for the development and implementation of a British strategy against illegal immigration. From 2006 Wainwright held the post of head of the international department of the UK's

Serious Organised Crime Agency The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom which existed from 1 April 2006 until 7 October 2013. SOCA was a national law enforcement agency with Home Office sponsorship, e ...

(SOCA). In April 2009, Wainwright was appointed Director of Europol, the European Police Office, being the first Director without a police background or belonging to a national police force. He leads a staff of over 800 personnel who support law enforcement authorities in the 27 EU Member States to tackle international organised crime. The agency handles over 18 000 cross–border cases per year in areas such as drugs, human trafficking, cybercrime, intellectual property crime, cigarette smuggling, Euro counterfeiting, money laundering and asset tracing, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and terrorism. Wainwright and other EU citizens witnessed the reform of Europol's legal framework as it became a formal EU agency on 1 January 2010. Through this process Europol claimed to have acquired a stronger mandate and new capabilities. On 1 July 2011, Wainwright hosted HM Queen

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born ...

as she officially opened Europol's new headquarters in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. In March 2012, the Council of Justice and Home Affairs extended Wainwright's term of office as Director of Europol until 2017. It was subsequently extended until 1 May 2018, after which he was succeeded by

Catherine De Bolle Catherine De Bolle (born 17 February 1970) is the executive director of Europol, succeeding Rob Wainwright whose term expired on 1 May 2018. Before that she was the chief commissioner of the Belgian federal police (1 March 2012–1 May 2018) a ...

Personal life

Wainwright is married and has three children. His interests include literature and history. He has said society accepts that intercepting private phone calls is "a reasonable way to run a democracy".

References

External links

Profile of Rob Wainwright from Europol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wainwright, Rob 1967 births Living people Detectives Chiefs of police British civil servants People from Carmarthen Alumni of the London School of Economics Executive directors of Europol MI5 personnel Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George