Sir Robert William Chote (born 24 January 1968) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and chair of the

UK Statistics Authority The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA, ) is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for oversight of the Office for National Statistics, maintaining a national code of practice for official statist ...

. He was previously chairman of the

Office of Budget Responsibility An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

from 2010 to 2020.

Education

Chote completed his secondary education at St Mary's College in Bitterne Park,

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. In 1989, he graduated in economics from

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

(where he was president of the Cambridge University Social Democrats and, after the merger of the SDP with the Liberals, chair of the Cambridge University Social and Liberal Democrats). He then studied journalism at City University, London, and international public policy at the School of Advanced International Studies at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in the United States.

Career

Chote began his career as a reporter and columnist at ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and was named Young Financial Journalist of the Year in 1993 when working for the ''

Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' by the Wincott Foundation. He then moved to the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' to become Economics Editor in 1995. From 1999 to 2002, he served as an adviser to the senior management of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he worked under Stanley Fischer and

Anne Krueger Anne Osborn Krueger (; born February 12, 1934) is an American economist. She was the World Bank Chief Economist from 1982 to 1986, and the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2001 to 2006. She is currentl ...

. Chote was appointed director of the

Institute for Fiscal Studies The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is an independent economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It produces both academic and policy-related findings. The institute's ...

in October 2002. He has also served as a member of the Statistics Advisory Committee of the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

. In September 2010, he was appointed chairman of the

, succeeding Sir

Alan Budd Sir Alan Peter Budd (16 November 1937 – 13 January 2023) was a British economist, who was a founding member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in 1997. Budd left the MPC in May 1999, and between August 1999 and 2008 wa ...

. This appointment was subject to Parliamentary approval, which was received. He started as chairman on 4 October 2010. As of 2015, Chote was paid a salary of between £150,000 and £154,999 by the department, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time. He served two five-year terms and stepped down in 2020. In March 2021, he began as the inaugural chair of the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council, which was established to provide independent scrutiny of the NI public finances. On 1 June 2022, Chote was appointed chairman of the

. Chote also has a position as a senior advisor at Francis Maude Associates, a consultancy set up by

Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2010 to 2015. He also served ...

. In May 2024, Chote was appointed the next president of

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

. He is expected to take up the position on 1 September 2025, succeeding Dame Hilary Boudling as the college's 29th president.

Honours and awards

Chote was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to fiscal policy and the economy.

Personal life

Since 1997, Chote has been married to Dame Sharon White,McElwee, M (2000) ''The Great and the Good? The rise of the new class'', p, 55. London: Centre for Policy Studies. the former chairman of the

John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company that operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, financial services and a build to rent operation. The public limited company is owned by a trust on behalf o ...

and previously the chief executive of

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

. The couple has two children. He is the son of Olympic athlete Morville Chote.

References

External links

Bio at the Institute for Fiscal Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chote, Robert Living people Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Alumni of City, University of London Johns Hopkins University alumni People educated at St Mary's College, Southampton British male journalists 1968 births Knights Bachelor 20th-century British economists 21st-century British economists 20th-century British journalists 20th-century British male writers The Independent people Financial Times editors