Our speaker was born in Cardiff and is a graduate and honorary fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford.

As Sir Robert Rogers, he was Clerk of the House of Commons and Chief Executive 2011-14, after a career in the House Service. On retirement he received a peerage and sits on the Cross Benches of the House of Lords, specialising in constitutional and governance matters.

Lord Lisvane has been a member of the Delegated Powers Select Committee and of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. He is a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee and in 2023 chaired the Lords Special Inquiry Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Weapon Systems.

Outside the House of Lords, Lord Lisvane has held a number of offices in national and local public institutions and inquiries as a chair, trustee or advisor and he has just retired as a Deputy Lieutenant for Herefordshire. He has written and co-authored several books on the workings of Parliament.

His pastimes are music (he is a singer and church organist), and various sports. His wife Jane is Rural Dean of Abbey Dore, Herefordshire, and a former High Sheriff of the County.