Sir Robin Mountfield, KCB (16 October 1939 – 9 November 2011) was 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 ...

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, who retired in 1999 from his most senior post as

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

at the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

Early life and education

Mountfield was born on 16 October 1939. He attended

Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby is a 7–18 boys private day school, located in Great Crosby on Merseyside. The school's motto is that of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors: ''Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt'' (Small Things Grow ...

and then

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

Career

He joined the Ministry of Power in 1961. He rose to the rank of Deputy Secretary in the

Department of Trade and Industry Department of Trade and Industry may refer to: Current * Department of Trade and Industry (Isle of Man) * Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) * Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (South Africa) Former * Department of Trade ...

in 1984, where he served until 1992 when he transferred to

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

. In 1995 he moved to the Cabinet Office as

responsible for the Office of Public Service there (the remainder of the

Office of Public Service and Science 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 ...

after the

Office of Science and Technology The Office of Science and Technology (OST), later (briefly) named the Office of Science and Innovation, was a non-ministerial government department of the British government between 1992 and 2007. The office was responsible for co-ordination of ...

transferred to DTI). In 1998, his role was re-cast as Permanent Secretary ''at'' the Cabinet Office, in which he served until his retirement in 1999. In retirement he served as a non-executive director for a number of private companies.

Personal life

In 1963, Mountfield married Anne Newsham. Together they had two sons and a daughter. His daughter,

Helen Mountfield Helen Mountfield, (born 14 March 1967) is a British barrister practising in administrative, human rights, and equality law. She has been Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford since 2018. Early life and education Mountfield was born on 14 Mar ...

, is a barrister and the Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford. He died on 9 November 2011.

Honours

Mountfield was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in the

1988 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in sup ...

and was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order (KCB) in the

1999 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1999 for various Commonwealth realms were announced on 30 December 1998, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1999. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various orders, d ...

shortly after his retirement.

Styles

* Mr Robin Mountfield (1939–1988) * Mr Robin Mountfield CB (1998–1999) * Sir Robin Mountfield KCB (1999–2011)

Offices held

References

External links

"Obituary - Sir Robin Mountfield", ''The Telegraph'', 15 November 2011

"Obituary - Sir Robin Mountfield", University of Essex, 19 December 2011
1939 births 2011 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Civil servants in the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretaries of the Cabinet Office Private secretaries in the British Civil Service People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby {{UK-gov-bio-stub