Cabinet secretary


A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service.
The title of cabinet secretary may also be used as an alternative term for a politically appointed cabinet minister, derived from secretary of state—the formal title for ministers. This naming convention is used in Japan, Kenya, Scotland and the United States.

Parliamentary systems

Australia

In Australia the equivalent position is the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, although both the department and its secretary have wider responsibilities than in most other governments derived from the Westminster System.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison established a position entitled Cabinet Secretary in August 2019 within the Prime Minister's Office responsible for cabinet operations and appointed a former senior political adviser and intelligence official Andrew Shearer to the role.
The Cabinet Secretary is also a title conferred on an Australian minister responsible for assisting the prime minister to manage the day-to-day procedural and operational matters of the Cabinet and any Cabinet committees. As per all other ministers in the Westminster system, the Cabinet Secretary is a sitting member of Parliament, chosen by the Prime Minister and officially appointed by the Governor-General. The Cabinet Secretary is a portfolio minister of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and has existed at various stages since 2007.
Australia's states and territories have equivalent officials
In Canada the equivalent position is the Clerk of the Privy Council, who functions as Deputy Minister to the prime minister of Canada and heads the Privy Council Office. Canada's provinces and territories also have equivalent officials as the head of their respective public services, as in the list below:
  • Alberta: Deputy Minister of Executive Council and Secretary to the Cabinet
  • British Columbia: Deputy Minister to the Premier and Cabinet Secretary
  • Manitoba: Clerk of the Executive Council
  • New Brunswick: Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to Cabinet
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to the Cabinet
  • Nova Scotia: the head of the civil service is the Clerk of the Executive Council, while the Secretary to the Cabinet is a separate position.
  • Ontario: Secretary of the Cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council
  • Prince Edward Island: the head of the civil service is the Clerk of the Executive Council, while the Premier's Principal Secretary advises the Premier and Cabinet on matters of policy and strategy
  • Quebec: Secrétaire général du Conseil exécutif
  • Saskatchewan: Deputy Minister to the Premier and Cabinet Secretary
  • Northwest Territories: Secretary to the Cabinet
  • Nunavut: Secretary to Cabinet
  • Yukon: Cabinet Secretary and Deputy Minister of the Executive Council Office

    India

The Cabinet Secretariat is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. The administrative head of the Cabinet Secretariat is the Cabinet Secretary who is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board, and thus the head of the Indian Administrative Service.
As a matter of convention the senior most civil servant is appointed as a Cabinet Secretary. He or she belongs to the Indian Administrative Service. The incumbent generally has a tenure of two to three years. Though there is no fixed tenure. His or her tenure however, can be extended.
The Cabinet Secretary is the head of all the civil services under the constitution which is the All India Civil Services and the Central Civil Services. His status in the Indian order of precedence is equivalent to that of the Attorney General of India and just above chiefs of staff or equivalent in the armed services holding the rank of full general.
The functions of the Cabinet Secretary in India are:
  1. Provide assistance to the Council of Ministers
  2. Act as advisor and conscience keeper of the civil services
  3. Handle senior appointments
  4. Prepare the agenda of the Cabinet
  5. Attend the meetings of the Cabinet
  6. Ensure that the Cabinet decisions are implemented
  7. Advise the Prime Minister
  8. Act as the Chairman of the Committee of Secretaries on Administration
  9. Act as the Chairman of the Chief Secretaries Committee
  10. Provide an element of continuity and stability to administration during crises
The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India Rules, 1961 and the Government of India Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/Departments of the Government by ensuring adherence to these rules. The Secretariat assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst Ministries/Departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing/ad hoc Committees of Secretaries. Through this mechanism new policy initiatives are also promoted.
The Cabinet Secretariat ensures that the president of India, the vice-president and Ministers are kept informed of the major activities of all Departments by means of a monthly summary of their activities. Management of major crisis situations in the country and coordinating activities of the various Ministries in such a situation is also one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat.
The Cabinet Secretary is arguably India's most powerful bureaucrat.

Ireland

In Ireland the position of Cabinet Secretary is officially titled Secretary-General to the Government, and is concurrently Secretary-General of the Department of the Taoiseach, somewhat analogous to the Cabinet Office in the United Kingdom. This department provides the secretariat to the Cabinet and co-ordinates the Government Press Office. It also has some policy functions with regard to key areas such as Northern Ireland, economic policy, and public service modernisation. The role is modeled on, and is broadly similar to, the UK equivalent, though in recent times has become more constrained by the seven-year time limit placed on Secretaries General in the mid-1990s following the introduction of the Strategic Management Initiative.

Israel

In Israel, the Cabinet Secretary heads an office responsible for preparing the agenda of cabinet meetings and facilitating communication between ministers. The secretariat is also responsible for presenting government-initiated bills to the Knesset and for conducting certain press briefings. The secretary is appointed on the recommendation of the prime minister, with the current secretary being Yossi Fuchs.

Japan

In Japan the office of Chief cabinet secretary has been made into a ministerial post, being held by a member of the House of Representatives. This is unusual, as most countries give the position to a civil servant. The chief cabinet secretary performs much the same role as other cabinet secretaries; however, he or she is responsible for overseeing the administrative operations of Cabinet, and presiding over the Cabinet Secretariat. The post has the added function of being the government's chief press secretary.

New Zealand

In New Zealand the Cabinet Secretary is part of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which provides assistance, coordination, and advice. The Cabinet Secretary also serves as Clerk of the Executive Council, the formal body on which Cabinet rests. The office of Cabinet Secretary is somewhat anomalous, by New Zealand standards, in that it is partly autonomous from the department to which it belongs. The role does not, however, have the broad powers given to its British equivalent – for example, authority over the civil service is held by the State Services Commissioner, a separate official.

Pakistan

In Pakistan the Cabinet Secretary is a senior civil servant who is responsible for running the Cabinet Division.

Saint Kitts and Nevis

In 2015, Josephine Huggins was appointed the country's first female cabinet secretary.

United Kingdom

In the UK Government the Cabinet Secretary is the most senior civil servant in the country, providing policy advice to the prime minister and Cabinet. The role is currently occupied by Sir Chris Wormald, appointed in December 2024 following the resignation of Simon Case.
From 1981 to 2011, the position of Cabinet Secretary had been combined with the roles of Head of the Home Civil Service and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary. The first means that the Cabinet Secretary is responsible for all the civil servants of the various departments within government, chairing the Permanent Secretaries Management Group which is the principal governing body of the civil service. The second means that the Cabinet Secretary is responsible for leading the government department that provides administrative support to the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The post is appointed by the prime minister with the advice of the out-going Cabinet Secretary and the First Civil Service Commissioner.
With the retirement of Gus O'Donnell, who served from 2005 until the end of 2011, the three roles hitherto performed by the Cabinet Secretary were split: the Cabinet Secretary would provide policy advice to the Prime Minister and Cabinet; the Head of the Home Civil Service would provide leadership for the whole Civil Service; and the Permanent Secretary would oversee the Cabinet Office. O'Donnell was succeeded by Jeremy Heywood as Cabinet Secretary, Bob Kerslake as Head of the Home Civil Service and Permanent Secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government and Ian Watmore as lastly, Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary.
The responsibilities of the job vary from time to time and depend very much on the personal qualities of both the prime minister and Cabinet Secretary of the day. In most cases the true influence of the Cabinet Secretary extends far beyond administrative matters, and reaches to the very heart of the decision-making process. For instance, the Cabinet Secretary is responsible for administering the Ministerial Code which governs the conduct of ministers. In this duty the Cabinet Secretary may be asked to investigate leaks within government, and enforce Cabinet discipline. This gives the unelected Cabinet Secretary some authority over elected ministers.
The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for overseeing the intelligence services and their relationship to the government, though since 2002 this responsibility has been delegated to a full-time role, with the Cabinet Secretary focussing on civil service reforms to help deliver the government's policy programme.