Sir Robin Catford, KCVO, CBE (11 January 1923 – 27 May 2008) was a British civil servant who served as the Prime Minister's Appointments Secretary to Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
[1] After Cambridge, Sir Robin joined the Sudan Civil Service for nine years.
[2] In 1966, he joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries as Principal Secretary, eventually becoming under-secretary in 1979.
[2] These largely consisted of senior Church of England appointments but also included, for instance, the selection of Ted Hughes to succeed John Betjeman as Poet Laureate.
[4] In 1988, Sir Robin helped Margaret Thatcher to write her "Sermon on the Mound" speech.