Downing Street Chief of Staff
 Downing Street Chief of Staff  | |
|---|---|
| Start | 2 May 1997 |
| Deputy | Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister |
| Website | http://www.number10.gov.uk/ |
| "The most powerful unelected official in the country", possibly "the third most powerful altogether" after the UK Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.Boss of the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister. | |
The Downing Street chief of staff is the most senior political appointee in the Office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, acting as a senior aide to the prime minister, a powerful, non-ministerial position within Her Majesty's Government.
The role of chief of staff initially had executive authority, and at the time of its creation, was referred to as "almost certainly the most powerful unelected official in the country", and possibly "the third most powerful altogether" after the prime minister and the chancellor of the exchequer.[1]
History
The first official chief of staff in 10 Downing Street was David Wolfson, under Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1985.[2] The position of Downing Street Chief of Staff was recreated by Tony Blair upon his becoming prime minister in 1997 and Jonathan Powell held the post for ten years.
In 1997 Tony Blair gave his chief of staff, a special advisor, 'unprecedented powers' to issue orders to civil servants.[3] Previously the Cabinet secretary had been the most senior non-ministerial figure in the British Government, and along with the principal private secretary to the prime minister had supported the prime minister in the running of 10 Downing Street. Following the creation of the role, the chief of staff supplanted the principal private secretary in running Downing Street operations and effectively replaced the power of the Cabinet secretary in terms of co-ordinating government policy.
Although the Cabinet secretary continued to be a highly important role, through remaining responsible for making sure that the civil service was organised effectively and was capable of delivering the Government's objectives,[4] the chief of staff replaced the Cabinet Secretary as the "right-hand man" for the prime minister.[5] "Powell had been at the epicentre of power. As Tony Blair's chief of staff, he was the ultimate fixer, the prime minister's first line of defence against events, baby-catcher in chief. When things went wrong, people called Powell."[6]
Office Holders on Wikispooks
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Barclay | 5 February 2022 | 5 July 2022 |
| Dan Rosenfield | 1 January 2021 | 5 February 2022 |
| Edward Llewellyn | 11 May 2010 | 13 July 2016 |
| Jeremy Heywood | 10 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 |
| Stephen Carter | 23 January 2008 | 10 October 2008 |
| Tom Scholar | 27 June 2007 | 23 January 2008 |
| Jonathan Powell | 2 May 1997 | 27 June 2007 |
References
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/mar/15/tonyblair
- ↑ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/03/14/lord-wolfson-sunningdale-businessman-became-mrs-thatchers-chief/
- ↑ Nick Assinder. Jonathan Powell BBC 14 July 2004. (Accessed 25 September 2007)
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100628134834/http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/history/cabinet-secretary/index.aspx
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3893065.stm |
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/mar/15/tonyblair
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