Robert Hull was educated at the University of Leicester, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in History in 1968, and at the Manchester Business School, where he completed a Masters in Business Administration in 1973. He began his professional career at the UK Atomic Energy Authority in London, working there from 1969-1971. Following that, in 1971, he was employed at the Long Range Forecast Unit for Post Office Telecommunications, London. In 1973, following completion of his MBA he became Director of Industrial Development with the North of England Development Council, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1974. The following year he joined the European Commission working as Desk Officer for the Customs Union Service from 1974-1976, before becoming Desk Officer for South-East Asia in the Directorate General for External Relations, 1976-1979. He then moved to the UK Civil Service working as Principal in the Scottish Office, Edinburgh, as Head of UK and EU Regional Policy Branch and then EC Agricultural Policy Branch. He rejoined the Directorate General for External Relations, working as Desk Officer for Generalised System of Preferences from 1982-1983. During 1983-1986 he was Desk Officer for Gulf Countries, Euro-Arab Dialogue and International Energy Relations, and from 1986-1990 he was Assistant to the Director General for Financial Institutions and Company Law coordinating input to the Single Market process. From 1990-1994 he was the Adviser to the Director General for the Environment and was Commission representative on the Board of the European Foundation for Living and Working Conditions and a member of the Environmental Advisory Council of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He later became the Head of Division for Policy Coordination, responsible for the integration of environment into other policies, and the development of action programmes for the environment, in the Directorate General for the Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection during the 1994-1998 period. From 1998-2002 he was Director of Joint Services, for the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Most recently, 2002-2006, he was Director of Consultative Work for the European Economic and Social Committee.