Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

The British Diplomatic Service post of Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is the head of the Foreign Secretary's Private Office.

The list below includes holders of the post of Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs up to 1968, when the office of Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs was created.

In the 19th century, the Foreign Secretary might have only one private secretary, often a personal appointment. Today, the Principal Private Secretary is the head of a small department, and the post is a senior one, typically held for a two year term by a Diplomatic Service officer at Director grade (equivalent to a Rear Admiral).^[1]

Holders of this post often go on to ambassador-level posts, and often are honoured with knighthoods, or sometimes peerages, later in their career. This list shows holders' names as they were at the time; details of their later careers and honours can be found in individual articles.

Principal Private Secretaries

• 1822: George Seymour
• 1822–1824: Lord George Bentinck
• 1824–1827: Augustus Stapleton
• 1827–1830: Digby Wrangham
• 1830–1833: John Walpole
• 1833–1834: Stephen Sulivan
• 1834–1835: Algernon Greville
• 1835–1840: Charles Cowper
• 1840–1841: James Howard
• 1841–1846: Clinton Dawkins
• 1846–1852: Spencer Ponsonby
• 1852: George Harris
• 1852–1853: Arthur Russell
• 1853–1857: Spencer Ponsonby (Second term)
• 1857–1858: Villiers Lister
• 1858–1859: John Bidwell
• 1859–1865: George Elliot
• 1865–1866: Villiers Lister (Second term)
• 1866–1868: Thomas Sanderson
• 1868–1870: Villiers Lister (Third term)
• 1870–1871: Robert Meade
• 1871–1874: Thomas Wetherell
• 1874–1878: Thomas Sanderson (Second term)
• 1878–1880: Philip Currie
• 1880–1885: Thomas Sanderson (Third term)
• 1885–1886: Eric Barrington^[2]
• 1886: Francis Hyde Villiers
• 1886–1892: Eric Barrington (Second term)
• 1892–1894: Francis Hyde Villiers (Second term)
• 1894–1895: Armine Wodehouse
• 1895–1905: Sir Eric Barrington (Third term)
• 1906–1907: Louis du Pan Mallet^[3]
• 1907–1915: Sir William Tyrrell^[4]
• 1915–1919: Sir Eric Drummond^[5]
• 1920–1924: Robert Vansittart^[6]
• 1924–1932: Sir Walford Selby^[7]
• 1932–1935: Horace Seymour^[8]
• 1936–1939: Oliver Harvey^[9]
• 1939–1941: Ralph Stevenson^[10]
• 1941–1943: Oliver Harvey (Second term)
• 1943–1947: Pierson Dixon^[11]
• 1947–1949: Frank Roberts^[12]
• 1949–1951: Roderick Barclay^[13]
• 1951–1954: Evelyn Shuckburgh^[14]
• 1954–1955: Sir Anthony Rumbold^[15]
• 1955–1956: Patrick Hancock^[16]
• 1956–1959: Denis Laskey^[17]
• 1959–1963: Ian Samuel^[18]
• 1963: Oliver Wright^[19]
• 1963–1965: Nicholas Henderson^[20]
• 1965–1967: Murray MacLehose^[21]
• 1967–1969: Donald Maitland^[22]
• 1969–1972: John Graham^[23]
• 1972–1975: Antony Acland^[24]
• 1975: Stephen Barrett^[25]
• 1975–1978: Ewen Fergusson^[26]
• 1978–1981: George Walden^[27]
• 1981–1984: Brian Fall^[28]
• 1984–1986: Leonard Appleyard^[29]
• 1986–1988: Anthony Galsworthy^[30]
• 1988–1990: Stephen Wall^[31]
• 1990–1993: Richard Gozney^[32]
• 1993–1995: John Sawers^[33]
• 1995–1997: William Ehrman^[34]
• 1997–1999: John Grant^[35]
• 1999–2001: Sherard Cowper-Coles^[36]
• 2001–2003: Simon McDonald^[37]
• 2003–2005: Geoffrey Adams^[38]
• 2005–2007: Peter Hayes^[39]
• 2007–2010: Matthew Gould^[40]
• 2010–2012: Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby^[41][42]
• 2012–2014: Thomas Drew^[43]
• 2014–present: Martin Reynolds^[44]

References

External links

• Mackie, Colin (2016) "A Directory of British Diplomats" (PDF).