Sir Mark Sedwill was appointed Cabinet Secretary in 2018. He is also Head of the Civil Service and National Security Adviser.
Prior to this, Mark was the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office (2013-17), FCO Political Director (2012-13), NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan (2010-11), HM Ambassador to Afghanistan (2009-10) and Director of UKvisas (2006-8). He joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 1989, serving in Egypt, Iraq, Cyprus and Pakistan.
Mark was educated at the University of St Andrews and the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and President of the Special Forces Club. He is married with one daughter.
THE ROLE
As Cabinet Secretary, Mark is the Government’s most senior adviser on strategy, policy and implementation. He is Secretary to the Cabinet and the National Security Council, responsible to the Prime Minister and Cabinet for the propriety and effectiveness of Cabinet governance. As Head of the UK Civil Service, he leads over 400,000 civil servants in HM Government and the Devolved Administrations, over 90% of whom are involved in the delivery of public services to the citizen.
With just four weeks left before nominations for the 2019 Civil Service Awards close, Mark Sedwill says the awards are a fantastic opportunity to shine a light on some of the brilliant work of civil servants.
Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill pays tribute to all the recipients – including over 100 civil servants – of awards in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2019.
Mark Sedwill welcomes the findings of a new report on international civil service effectiveness.
With a week to go before nominations close for this year's Civil Service Diversity & Inclusion Awards, Mark Sedwill explains why the awards are so important and encourages civil servants to take part.
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Mark Sedwill looks at the headline results of the 2018 People Survey.
Who won the Civil Service Awards 2018? Mark Sedwill congratulates the winners and looks ahead.
Mark Sedwill urges civil servants in all departments to think differently about how they work with their wider departmental partners to deliver shared goals.
Home Office Permanent Secretary Mark Sedwill looks at crime prevention in the digital age.
...international diplomacy, mostly in countries like Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. You probably don’t know that, on 28 October, I will become the Chair of the Civil Service Lifeboat Fund....
The Home Office Permanent Secretary, Mark Sedwill, looks at the wider pressures we face in 2015 and what his department will be focusing on this year.
