Chief Nursing Officer (United Kingdom)

The Chief Nursing Officer is the most senior adviser on nursing matters in a government. The CNOs in the United Kingdom are appointed to advise their respective governments: His Majesty's Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government. Each CNO is assisted by one or more Deputy Chief Nursing Officers, and is complemented by a Chief Medical Officer.

Chief Nursing Officers for England

The Chief Nursing Officer is based at the Department of Health.

1941–1948: Dame Katherine Watt
1948–1958: Dame Elizabeth Cockayne
1958–1972: Dame Kathleen Raven
1972–1982: Dame Phyllis Friend
1982–1992: Dame Anne Poole
1992–1999: Dame Yvonne Moores
1999–2004: Dame Sarah Mullally
2004–2012: Dame Christine Beasley
2012–2019: Dame Jane Cummings
2019–2024: Dame Ruth May
2024–present: Duncan Burton

Chief Nursing Officers for Scotland

file:Shirley-Anne Somerville, Nicola Sturgeon and Fiona McQueen COVID-19 - 30 September 2020.jpg|thumb|Shirley-Anne Somerville, Nicola Sturgeon and Fiona McQueen briefing Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2020
The Chief Nursing Officers for Scotland is based at the Scottish Government and previously at the Scottish Office.

1939–1944: Margaret Colville Marshall
1944–1961: Mary Olivia Robinson
1961–1969: Margaret Macnaughton
1970–1976: Dame Muriel Powell
1977–1988: Margaret Gibson Auld
1988–1992: Dame Yvonne Moores
1992–2004: Anne Jarvie
2004–2009: Paul Martin
2010–2014: Rosalyn Elaine Moore
2015–2020: Fiona McQueen
2020–2021: Prof Amanda Croft
2022–2024: Prof Alex McMahon
2024–2025: Anne Armstrong
2025–present: Prof Aisha Holloway

Chief Nursing Officers for Wales

1972–1981: Edith Alice Bell
1982–1988: Dame Yvonne Moores
1999–2010: Rosemary Kennedy
2010–2021: Jean White
2021–2021: Gareth Howells
2021–present: Sue Tranka

Chief Nursing Officers for Northern Ireland

The Chief Nursing Officer for Northern Ireland is based at the Department of Health.

1960–1975: Mona Grey
1995–2005: Judith Hill
2005–2011: Martin Bradley
2013–2021: Charlotte McArdle
2022–present: Maria McIlgorm