Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister | |
---|---|
His Majesty's Government | |
Incumbent Elizabeth Perelman since 25 October 2022 | |
Prime Minister's Office | |
Reports to | Prime Minister |
Nominator | Prime Minister |
Appointer | Prime Minister |
Formation | 1757 |
Website | 10 Downing Street |
The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior official in the United Kingdom
The current principal private secretary is Elizabeth Perelman, who assumed the position following the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister on 25 October 2022.
History
As the role of Prime Minister has evolved over time, so has the role of Principal Private Secretary. The Duke of Newcastle appointed a Private Secretary during his second term of office as First Lord of the Treasury (1757-62), and his 18th-century successors for the most part did likewise.[1] The Private Secretary at this time was not on the establishment of HM Treasury and he was not paid an official salary. This changed in 1806, when money was made available from public funds. In 1813 the funding available was doubled to enable a second Private Secretary to be employed, alongside the first (or 'principal') holder of the office.[2]
At this time it became customary for one of the Private Secretaries to be appointed from within the Civil Service (more often than not from the Treasury) to provide administrative support, and the other to be recruited from outside the Civil Service (including on occasion from the House of Commons) to provide political support. (In today's terms the latter were more akin to special advisers or a Parliamentary Private Secretary.)[1] A third Private Secretary was added in the 1870s.
Under
Up until the 1920s the
For many years, although there was a hierarchy of officials within the private office, it was not generally made public (instead the 'private secretaries' were simply listed in alphabetical order); but this changed in 1929 when Robert Vansittart was listed as 'principal' private secretary for the first time in the Imperial Calendar.
Recent history
During
When
The principal secretary runs the
List of principal private secretaries to the prime minister (from 1757, incomplete)
See also
- Prime Minister's Office
- Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Further reading
- Pickering, Heath; Bellens, Tom; Brans, Marleen (2024). "The prime minister's chief of staff: Comparing profiles and trends in Westminster democracies, 1990–2021". Governance.
References
- ^ a b c d Jones, G. W. (1976). "The Prime Ministers' Secretaries: Politicians or Administrators?". In Griffith, J. A. G. (ed.). From Policy to Administration: Essays in honour of William A. Robson. London: Routledge. pp. 15–16.
- ^ a b Blick, Andrew; Jones, George. "The Institution of Prime Minister". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ "Cabinet Office Structure Charts, May 2010" (PDF). Cabinet Office, HM Government. May 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ^ "THE CABINET CRISIS.|1894-03-06|The South Wales Daily Post – Welsh Newspapers". newspapers.library.wales. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
- ^ "TO-DAY'S INCIDENTS.___I|1894-03-06|South Wales Echo – Welsh Newspapers". newspapers.library.wales. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
- ^ "Premier and ex-Premier.|1894-03-06|Evening Express – Welsh Newspapers". newspapers.library.wales. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
- ^ a b British Political Facts 1900–1994, Butler & Butler, 1994, p. 284
- ^ "The secret 'that could have toppled Wilson'". www.telegraph.co.uk. 14 March 2005. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
- ^ "WHEN I WAS RUDE TO CIVIL SERVANTS » 16 Dec 1995 » The Spectator Archive". The Spectator Archive. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
- ISBN 978-1-5261-3720-3.
- ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
- ^ "Martin Reynolds Government Profile". Gov.uk. UK Government. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Peter Wilson appointed Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-03-08.