Roger Martin is

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

to the Board of Trustees,

Population Matters Population Matters, formerly known as the Optimum Population Trust, is a UK-based charity that works at the intersection of population, environmental sustainability, and human rights, including women's empowerment and leadership, sexual and repr ...

(formerly the Optimum Population Trust) and President of the Somerset Branch,

Campaign to Protect Rural England Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar produ ...

Education

Westminster school Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

Career

* VSO

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

, 1959–60; *Civil rights campaigner in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, 1963; *Founder member of Campaign Against Racial Discrimination; *

Commonwealth Office The secretary of state for commonwealth affairs was a British Cabinet minister responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The minister's department was the Common ...

, 1964–66; *Second Secretary,

Djakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and an autonomous region at the provincial leve ...

, 1967;

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

,1968–70; *First Secretary,

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

, 1971–74; *Geneva, 1975–79; *Seconded to

Department of Trade Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, as Head of

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Branch, *Deputy High Commissioner,

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

, 1983–86, resigned in fury; *Author 'The Price of Apartheid' (Pub EIU 1988); *Visiting Fellow

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

*Member of National Executive, VSO, 1988–96; *Director,

Somerset Wildlife Trust Somerset Wildlife Trust (SWT) is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England. The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 ...

, 1988-2001 Vice President from 2001, *Member, Flood Defence and Pollution Committees,

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

, 1990–2012; * SW panel, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 1993–97; *SW Committee,

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

, 2001–06. *Founder member,

South West Regional Assembly The South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) was the regional chamber for South West England, established in 1999. It was wound up in December 2008. Its functions were taken on by the South West Strategic Leaders' Board, the executive arm of the newl ...

, 1998. * Exmoor National Park Authority: Member,1998-2008; Trustee, 2003–07. *SW Regional Chair,

2001–2006; national Trustee 2003–07; President Somerset Branch 2006- *President, Mendip Society, 2001-09

HARDtalk

On 13 December 2010, he appeared on the BBC News programme "

HARDtalk ''HARDtalk'' is a BBC television and radio programme which was broadcast on the British and international feeds of the BBC News channel, and on the BBC World Service, from 31 March 1997 to 26 March 2025. Broadcast times and days vary, depend ...

" to discuss his Trust's stance.

Honours

He was made an Honorary Doctor of Science (Hon.DSc) by the

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a Public university, public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of hi ...

in 2001.

References

External links

Roger Martin
on BBC's ''

Hardtalk ''HARDtalk'' is a BBC television and radio programme which was broadcast on the British and international feeds of the BBC News channel, and on the BBC World Service, from 31 March 1997 to 26 March 2025. Broadcast times and days vary, depend ...

''
Roger Martin, Chair (Population Matters)Roger Martin profile at Battle of Ideas"Overpopulation is the biggest threat to our climate"
"The Great Debate UK", ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'' 16 October 2009
"the Optimum Population Trust"
''Rodaleworks'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Roger British diplomats English environmentalists Living people Members of HM Diplomatic Service 1941 births 20th-century British diplomats