Sir Robin John Taylor McLaren KCMG (14 August 1934 – 20 July 2010[1]) was a British diplomat.

Robin McLaren was educated at Ardingly College, a boarding independent school for boys (now co-educational), in the village of Ardingly (near Haywards Heath) in West Sussex, followed by St John's College, Cambridge, and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

He served in the Royal Navy from 1953 to 1955, and entered the Foreign Service in 1958.

He held a range of diplomatic posts between 1958 and 1994, including being Assistant Private Secretary to Sir Edward Heath between 1963 and 1964.

He was senior British representative on the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group between 1987 and 1989,[1] and British Ambassador to the People's Republic of China between 1991 and 1994.