This is a list of permanent under-secretaries in the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (and its predecessors) since 1790.
| Permanent Under Secretary of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs and Head of HM Diplomatic Service | |
|---|---|
Royal arms as used by His Majesty's Government | |
Incumbent since 8 January 2025Sir Oliver Robbins | |
| Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | |
| Reports to | Cabinet Secretary Foreign Secretary |
| Nominator | Cabinet Secretary |
| Appointer | Prime Minister |
| Inaugural holder | George Aust |
| Formation | 1790 |
The office holder chairs the Royal Visits Committee which provides advice to the Prime Minister on whether to invite Heads of State.
Permanent under-secretaries at the Foreign Office, 1790 to present
These are the permanent secretaries or senior civil servants at the Foreign Office.
- February 1790: George Aust
- October 1795: George Hammond (resigned 1806)
- March 1807: George Hammond
- October 1809: William Richard Hamilton
- July 1817: Joseph Planta
- April 1827: John Backhouse
- 1842: Henry Unwin Addington
- 1854: Edmund Hammond (later Lord Hammond)
- 1873: Charles Abbott, 3rd Baron Tenterden
- 1882: Sir Julian Pauncefote (later Lord Pauncefote)
- 1889: Sir Philip Currie (later Lord Currie)
- 1894: Sir Thomas Sanderson (later Lord Sanderson)
- 1906: Sir Charles Hardinge (later Lord Hardinge of Penshurst)
- 1910: Sir Arthur Nicolson (later Lord Carnock)
- 1916: Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
- 1920: Sir Eyre Crowe (died in office)
- 1925: Sir William Tyrrell (later Lord Tyrrell)
- 1928: Sir Ronald Lindsay
- 1930: Sir Robert Vansittart (later Lord Vansittart)
- 1938: Sir Alexander Cadogan
- 1946: Sir Orme Sargent (jointly with Sir William Strang, Head of the German Section 1947–1949)
- 1949: Sir William Strang (jointly with the Heads of the German Section: Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick 1949–1950, Sir D. Gainer 1950–1951) (later Lord Strang)
- 1953: Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick
- 1957: Sir Frederick Hoyer Millar (later Lord Inchyra)
- 1962: Sir Harold Caccia (later Lord Caccia)
- 1965: Sir Paul Gore-Booth (also Head of the Diplomatic Service from 1968; later Lord Gore-Booth)
- 1969: Sir Denis Greenhill (later Lord Greenhill of Harrow)
- 1973: Sir Thomas Brimelow (later Lord Brimelow)
- 1975: Sir Michael Palliser
- 1982: Sir Antony Acland
- 1986: Sir Patrick Wright (later Lord Wright of Richmond)
- 1991: Sir David Gillmore (later Lord Gillmore of Thamesfield)
- 1994: Sir John Coles
- 1997: Sir John Kerr (later Lord Kerr of Kinlochard)
- 2002: Sir Michael Jay (later Lord Jay of Ewelme)
- 2006: Sir Peter Ricketts (later Lord Ricketts)
- 2010: Sir Simon Fraser
- 2015: Sir Simon McDonald (later Lord McDonald of Salford)
- 2020: Sir Philip Barton
- 2025: Sir Oliver Robbins
See also
- List of permanent under secretaries of state of the Home Office
- Undersecretary
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