Sir Kenneth Stowe | |
|---|---|
| Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister | |
| In office 1975–1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Wilson James Callaghan Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Robert Armstrong |
| Succeeded by | Clive Whitmore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kenneth Ronald Stowe (1927-07-17)17 July 1927 |
| Died | 29 August 2015(2015-08-29) (aged 88) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Dagenham County High School |
| Alma mater | Exeter College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Awards | CB (1977) CVO (1979) KCB (1980) GCB (1986) |
Sir Kenneth Ronald StoweGCB CVO (17 July 1927 – 29 August 2015) was a senior Britishcivil servant. He wasPrincipal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister (1975-79), and thePermanent Under-Secretary of State of theNorthern Ireland Office (1979-81). From 1981-87, he wasPermanent Secretary of theDepartment of Health and Social Security. He was made aCB in 1977,CVO in 1979, andKCB in 1980 and aGCB in 1986.
Stowe was born inDagenham,Essex on 17 July 1927.[1] His father, Arthur Percy Stowe, was a maker of spectacles. His mother was Emmie Louise Webb. His parents married in 1926.[2]
Stowe attendedDagenham County High School and studied history, under a scholarship, atExeter College, Oxford.[3]
On 20 August 1949, Stowe married Joan Frances Randall Cullen, a teacher, in Essex. The couple went on to have two sons and a daughter. He was left a widower in 1995.[2][1]
Stowe graduated in 1951, he joined the civil service'sNational Assistance Board (later to become theMinistry of Social Security), working directly with those people who were asking for help. In 1973, he began employment as under-secretary at theCabinet Office in the Legislation Committee.[2][1] WhenRobert Armstrong moved on in 1975, he was recommended toHarold Wilson asPrincipal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. He remained in the role for four years, serving underHarold Wilson,James Callaghan and for the first few months ofMargaret Thatcher's premiership.[2]
Thatcher appointed Stowe asPermanent Under-Secretary of State of theNorthern Ireland Office in 1979, where he brokered an agreement during the1980 hunger strike atMaze prison, although it did not hold. He becamepermanent secretary for theDepartment of Health and Social Security in 1981, responsible for over a million individuals in theNHS and social services departments.[2]
After retirement in 1987, Stowe spent a period advising public service reform inZimbabwe andSouth Africa, as well as reform programs in the UK. He received multiple honours during his time in thecivil service, aCB in 1977,CVO in 1979, andKCB in 1980 and a GCB in 1986.[citation needed]
He spent his later years with his partner, Judith Mary Phillips, and died at his home inLingen, Herefordshire on 29 August 2015, aged 88.[2][4]
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister 1975–1979 | Succeeded by |