Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister


The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister is a senior official in the British Civil Service who acts as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is traditionally the head of the Prime Minister's Office. In the Civil Service, the role is currently graded as a Director-General.
The current Principal Private Secretary is Martin Reynolds, who was appointed by current Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after their predecessor, Peter Hill, resigned upon Boris Johnson's election victory as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister.

Recent history

During Tony Blair's administration, he modified the law under which the Civil Service operated to create the role of Downing Street Chief of Staff, which though held by a political advisor outranked the Principal Private Secretary. When Gordon Brown ascended to office, he reversed the change to the Civil Service law. When David Cameron became Prime Minister, he promoted the then-PPS to a new post of "Permanent Secretary, Downing Street", a position which took over heading the Prime Minister's Office. In 2012, the postholder, Jeremy Heywood, was appointed as Cabinet Secretary, this post ceased to exist, and the role of Civil Service head of the Office reverted to the Principal Private Secretary.

List of Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister (from 1757, incomplete)

#Principal Private SecretaryYearsPrime Minister
1Algernon West1868–1872William Ewart Gladstone
2Arthur Godley1880–1882William Ewart Gladstone
3Edward Walter Hamilton 1882–1885William Ewart Gladstone
4The Marquess of Granby1885–1888
5Capt the Hon Schomberg Kerr McDonnell 1888–1892Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
6Sir Algernon West 1892–1894William Ewart Gladstone
7Capt the Hon Sir Schomberg Kerr McDonnell 1894–1902
8John Satterfield Sandars 1902–1905Arthur Balfour
8AArthur Ponsonby1905-1908Henry Campbell-Bannerman
9Vaughan Nash 1908–1911H. H. Asquith
10Maurice Bonham-Carter1911–1916H. H. Asquith
11Sir John Davies 1916–1922David Lloyd George
12Lt Col Sir Edward Grigg 1921–1922David Lloyd George
13Sir Patrick Gower 1922–1928
14Lt Col Sir Ronald Waterhouse 1922–1928
14ARobert Vansittart1928-1930
15Alan Barlow 1933–1934Ramsay MacDonald
16Osmund Cleverly 1935–1939
17Arthur Rucker 1939–1940Neville Chamberlain
18Eric Seal 1940–1941Winston Churchill
19John Martin 1941–1945Winston Churchill
20Leslie Rowan 1945–1947Clement Attlee
21Laurence Helsby 1947–1950Clement Attlee
22Denis Rickett 1950–1951Clement Attlee
23Jock Colville 1951–1955Winston Churchill
24David Pitblado 1951–1956
25Frederick Bishop 1956–1959
26Derek Mitchell 1964–1966Harold Wilson
27Lt Col Arthur Michael Halls 1966–1970Harold Wilson
28Alexander Isserlis1970
29Robert Armstrong 1970–1975
30Kenneth Stowe 1975–1979
31Clive Whitmore1979–1982Margaret Thatcher
32Robin Butler1982–1985Margaret Thatcher
33Nigel Wicks 1985–1988Margaret Thatcher
34Andrew Turnbull 1988–1992
35The Hon Alex Allan1992–1997John Major
36Sir John Holmes 1997–1999Tony Blair
37Jeremy Heywood 1999–2003Tony Blair
38Ivan Rogers2003–2006Tony Blair
39Oliver Robbins2006–2007
40Tom Scholar2007–2008Gordon Brown
41Sir Jeremy Heywood 2008–2010Gordon Brown
42James Bowler2010–2011David Cameron
43Chris Martin 2011–2015David Cameron
44Simon Case2015–2017
45Peter Hill2017–2019
45Martin Reynolds2019–present