Sir Robert Buckland KBE KC (Law, Hatfield College, 1987-90) has been appointed to become the Third Church Estate Commissioner in the Church of England.
Sir Robert graduated in law in 1990 from Hatfield College, where he was Secretary of the Junior Common Room and President of the Durham Union Society in Michaelmas term 1989. He maintains close links with our Law School.
He was a practising barrister for nearly 20 years and a part-time Crown Court judge. He was appointed a QC in 2014 and KBE in 2022.
Elected in 2010 as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for South Swindon, he served as HM Solicitor General for England and Wales, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Minister of State for Prisons, and Secretary of State for Wales. He served as an MP until the 2024 General Election.
After being made honorary canon of Bristol Cathedral in 2024, Sir Robert was appointed as the Church of England's Third Church Estates Commissioner in February 2025.
The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. There are 33 Church Commissioners, of which the Church Estates Commissioners are three lay people who represent the Church Commissioners in the General Synod of the Church of England. The first and second commissioners are appointed by the British monarch, and the third commissioner is appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
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