Rob Young was born 21 Feb 1945, the son of Francis John Young and Marjorie Elizabeth Young. He was educated at King Edward VI School, Norwich, and the University of Leicester (taking a BA with 1st Class Honours in French); in 1967 he married Catherine Suzanne Françoise Houssait, having one son and two daughters.

Young entered the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1967 and his diplomatic career included the following: West and Central Africa Department, FCO, 1967; MECAS, Lebanon, 1968; Third Secretary, Cairo [Egypt], 1970-72; Second Secretary, Middle East Department, FCO, 1972-75; Private Secretary to Minister of State, 1975-76; Private Secretary to Ivor Richard, Rhodesia Conference, 1976; First Secretary, Paris [France], 1977-81; Assistant Head, Western European Department, FCO, 1982-84; Counsellor, Damascus [Syria], 1984-86; Head of Middle East Department, FCO, 1987-91; Minister, Paris, 1991-94; Deputy Under-Secretary of State, 1994-98, and Chief Clerk, 1995-98, FCO; High Commissioner, New Delhi [India], 1999-2003.