Sir (Robert) John Sawers, KCMG (born 26 July 1955) is a British diplomat. He is the current British Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) since August 2007. He is due to take up his new role as Chief of MI6 in November 2009.

Born in Warwick, Sawers was brought up in a family of five children in Bath and educated at the City of Bath Boys' School (which became Beechen Cliff School before he left), where he still holds the 440 yards hurdles school record. He studied Physics and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham, and spent periods at the Universities of St Andrews, Witwatersrand and Harvard. His interests include theatre, hiking and sport, especially tennis and cycling. His wife Shelley is a teacher. They have three grown-up children.

Sawers was previously Political Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a post he held since August 2003. In this post he advised the Foreign Secretary on political and security issues worldwide, and negotiated on behalf of the Foreign Secretary with international partners in the G8, EU and the UN. He was particularly closely involved in policy on Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans. Prior to this job he served two years in the Middle East, as Ambassador to Cairo 2001-03, and, for three months he was the British Government’s Special Representative in Baghdad.