Jump to content

David Williams (civil servant)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Williams
Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence
Assumed office
April 2021
Sec. of StateBen Wallace
Grant Shapps
John Healey
Preceded byStephen Lovegrove
Second Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care
In office
March 2020 – April 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Sec. of StateMatt Hancock
Preceded byOffice established[1]
Succeeded byShona Dunn
Personal details
BornDecember 1968 (1968-12) (age 56)
EducationCorpus Christi College, Oxford
OccupationCivil servant

David Peter Williams CB (born December 1968[2]) is a British civil servant who has served as the permanent under-secretary of state for defence since April 2021.[3]

Career

[edit]

From 2015, Williams served in various administrative positions in both the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Defence. In March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United Kingdom, he was appointed second permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care.[3]

In April 2021 he became the permanent under-secretary of state for defence, succeeding Stephen Lovegrove.[3] As Permanent Secretary his responsibilities include "the overall organisation, management and staffing of defence". He successfully oversaw a strategic defence review commissioned by the Labour government in 2024. In line with normal practice he will leave his current post after serving almost five years.

He is a policy leaders fellow at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Science and Policy.[4]

Honours

[edit]

Williams was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2020 New Year Honours "for services to Government Finances."[4][5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Department of Health & Social Care". HM Government. Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  2. ^ "BABCOCK LAND DEFENCE LIMITED". gov.uk. HM Government. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "David Williams". gov.uk. HM Government. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b "David Williams". Centre for Science and Policy. Centre for Science and Policy. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  5. ^ "New Year Honours list 2020". GOV.UK. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
Government offices
Preceded by Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Defence

2021–present
Succeeded by
incumbent