David Williams | |
|---|---|
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| Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence | |
| Assumed office April 2021 | |
| Sec. of State | Ben Wallace Grant Shapps John Healey |
| Preceded by | Stephen Lovegrove |
| Second Permanent Secretary at theDepartment of Health and Social Care | |
| In office March 2020 – April 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Sec. of State | Matt Hancock |
| Preceded by | Office established[1] |
| Succeeded by | Shona Dunn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 1968 (1968-12) (age 56) |
| Education | Corpus Christi College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
David Peter WilliamsCB (born December 1968[2]) is a British civil servant who has served as thepermanent under-secretary of state for defence since April 2021.[3]
From 2015, Williams served in various administrative positions in both theDepartment of Health and Social Care and theMinistry of Defence. In March 2020, at the beginning of theCOVID-19 outbreak in the United Kingdom, he was appointed second permanent secretary at theDepartment of Health and Social Care.[3]
In April 2021 he became thepermanent under-secretary of state for defence, succeedingStephen Lovegrove.[3] As Permanent Secretary his responsibilities include "the overall organisation, management and staffing of defence". In the wake of thedata breach in February 2022 by an individual at the headquarters of theUK Special Forces, a Defence Review led to a major reorganisation of the department, and Williams is to be replaced in autumn 2025.[4][5]
He is a policy leadersfellow at theUniversity of Cambridge'sCentre for Science and Policy.[6]
Williams was appointedCompanion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the2020 New Year Honours "for services to Government Finances."[6][7]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence 2021–present | Succeeded by incumbent |