{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}} '''Sir Iain Robert Lobban''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|KCMG|CB}} (born 1960) is a former British [[civil servant]]. He was the Director of the [[Government Communications Headquarters]] (GCHQ), the British [[signals intelligence]] agency, from 2008 to 2014.
==Education and career== Born in Nigeria, Lobban graduated from the [[University of Leeds]] with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in languages.<ref name=GuardJan14>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/28/gchq-head-sir-iain-lobban-stands-down|title=GCHQ head Sir Iain Lobban stands down|date=28 January 2014|work=The Guardian|author=Ewen MacAskill|accessdate=28 January 2014}}</ref><ref name =WarwickLob>{{cite web |url=http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/people/aldrich/vigilant/lectures/gchq/lobban/|title=Iain Lobban becomes Director of GCHQ|author=Richard J. Aldrich|publisher=[[University of Warwick]]|date=June 2008|accessdate=27 January 2014}}</ref> He joined GCHQ in 1983 and undertook a variety of roles before joining the GCHQ Board in 2001.<ref name =WarwickLob/> He was a participant of the Cabinet Office's Top Management Programme that year. He has also completed the [[Higher Command and Staff Course]] at the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence's]] staff college at [[Shrivenham]].<ref name=GuardNov13>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/07/heads-of-gchq-mi5-and-mi6-appear-before-intelligence-committee-live|title=Spy agency chiefs defend surveillance – as it happened|date=7 November 2013|work=The Guardian|author=Paul Owen|accessdate=28 January 2014}}</ref> Whilst on the Board he was responsible for moving the operations of GCHQ into its new base at [[The Doughnut]] at [[Benhall, Cheltenham|Benhall, Gloucestershire]]. Before being appointed Director, Lobban was Director-General (Operations); having taken up this post in early 2004. He became the [[Director of the Government Communications Headquarters|Director of GCHQ]] in July 2008, succeeding [[David Pepper (intelligence official)|Sir David Pepper]].<ref name =WarwickLob/>
Lobban spoke of his regret over the treatment of cryptographer [[Alan Turing]] in October 2012.<ref name=GuardOct12>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/oct/04/alan-turing-uk-cybercrime|title=GCHQ chief expresses regret at treatment of Alan Turing|date=4 October 2012|work=The Guardian|author=Nick Hopkins and Richard Norton-Taylor|accessdate=28 January 2014}}</ref> Turing, who committed suicide after being convicted of homosexuality, was described by Lobban as a "national asset" and said that more people like Turing were needed to face contemporary information security threats.<ref name=GuardOct12/>
In November 2013 in the wake of the [[Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)|global surveillance disclosures]] by the former American [[National Security Agency]] (NSA) contractor [[Edward Snowden]], Lobban and the other heads of the British intelligence agencies, [[Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere|Andrew Parker]] of [[MI5]], and [[John Sawers]] of [[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]] appeared before the [[Joint Intelligence Committee (United Kingdom)|Joint Intelligence Committee]].<ref name=GuardNov13/> During his questioning by the committee Lobban said that "I do not look at the surrounding hay" referring to the [[metadata]] collected by GCHQ.<ref name=GuardNov13/> Lobban said that the disclosures had been discussed by terrorist groups in the Middle East and Afghanistan.<ref name=GuardNov13/> The effect of Snowden's revelations would make GCHQ's task "...far, far harder in the future".<ref name=GuardNov13/> Snowden's extensive disclosures revealed details of GCHQ's recent activities and capabilities, including the [[Tempora]] [[electronic surveillance]] program, GCHQ's tapping of international [[fiber-optic communications]], and the NSA's payment to GCHQ over £100 Million between 2009 and 2012.<ref name="GCHQpay">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/01/nsa-paid-gchq-spying-edward-snowden|title=Exclusive: NSA pays £100m in secret funding for GCHQ|author=James Ball, Luke Harding and Juliette Garside|date =1 August 2013|accessdate=2 August 2013}}</ref>
It was announced in January 2014 that Lobban would stand down as GCHQ director before the end of the year.<ref name=GuardJan14/> Lobban's American equivalents, the head of the [[National Security Agency]], General [[Keith B. Alexander]], and his deputy, [[John C. Inglis]], also stood down from their posts in 2014.<ref name=GuardJan14/> He formally retired on 24 October 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/21/gchq-outgoing-director-sir-iain-lobban-edward-snowden-revelations|title=Outgoing GCHQ boss defends agency activities after Snowden revelations|work=The Guardian|date=21 October 2014|accessdate=24 October 2014}}</ref>
After retiring from the government, Lobban went on to advise the Australian government before joining the advisory board of private security firm the Holdingham Group, which is now known as [[Hakluyt & Company]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.caat.org.uk/resources/influence/person/3185/meetings |title=Resources - Influence - Person - 3185 - Iain Lobban |publisher=CAAT |date=2015-09-14 |accessdate=2017-02-17}}</ref>
Lobban was appointed [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] (CB) in the [[2006 New Year Honours]] for services to national security<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=57855&geotype=London&gpn=2&type= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925155623/http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=57855&geotype=London&gpn=2&type= |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 September 2008 |title=Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood |accessdate=22 September 2008 |date=31 December 2005 |work=[[The London Gazette]] |publisher=[[The London Gazette]] |df=dmy-all }} </ref> and [[Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]] (KCMG) in the [[2013 New Year Honours]] for services to national security.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=60367 |date=29 December 2012 |page=3 |supp=y }}</ref>
Lobban is a supporter of [[Everton F. C.]], and counts cricket, photography, travel and bird watching among his hobbies.<ref name=GuardJan14/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.gchq.gov.uk/speech/sir-iain-lobbans-valedictory-speech-delivered Lobban's valedictory speech to GCHQ staff] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014061226/https://www.gchq.gov.uk/speech/sir-iain-lobbans-valedictory-speech-delivered |date=14 October 2016 }}
{{start box}} {{S-gov}} {{succession box | before=[[David Pepper (intelligence official)|Sir David Pepper]]| title=[[Director of the Government Communications Headquarters|Director of GCHQ]] | years=2008–2014 | after= [[Robert Hannigan]] }} {{end box}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lobban, Iain}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]] [[Category:Directors of the Government Communications Headquarters]] [[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds]]