Permanent secretary
A permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil service chief executives of government departments or ministries, who generally hold their position for a number of years at a ministry as distinct from the changing political secretaries of state to whom they report and provide advice. The role originated in the civil service of the United Kingdom and has been adopted in several Commonwealth countries as well as other countries influenced by the Westminster system.
Country
Australia
In Australia, the position is called the "department secretary", “secretary of the department”, or “director-general of the department” in some states and territories.Canada
In Canada, the senior civil service position is a "deputy minister", who within a government ministry or department is outranked only by a minister of the Crown. Federally, deputy ministers are appointed by the prime minister on the advice of the secretary to the cabinet. They are considered to hold equal rank with parliamentary secretaries or assistants – legislators appointed to assist ministers in their duties – and are entitled to several privileges, including the use of diplomatic passports.Germany
In Germany, the equivalent office is called "Staatssekretär". It is not to be confused with the "parliamentary state secretary", who serves as deputy to a minister, often with a more specialised field of responsibilities. The parliamentary state secretary is always a political position, and not part of the civil service.Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, heads of policy bureaux, secretaries, were filled by civil servants until their titles were changed to permanent secretaries in 2002, when political appointees filled the positions of secretaries under the second Tung Chee Hwa government. Since August 2005, the Office of the Chief Executive also has a permanent secretary. His ranking is, however, lower than most other permanent secretaries according to the pay scale.India
In India, the equivalent position is called "secretary to the Government of India" and is the highest-ranking permanent civil servant in a department. With the exception of departments within the Ministry of External Affairs, which are headed by Indian Foreign Service officers, all Secretaries to the Government of India are drawn from cadres of the Indian Administrative Service.These officers directly report to Ministers of the Union within their respective ministry, and oversee all day-to-day operations of their departments. Within the civil service, they are outranked only by the Cabinet Secretary of India or the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India when the latter is granted the rank of Cabinet Secretary.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, the equivalent position is called secretary-general, one of the highest-ranking permanent civil servants in a ministry, leads the General Secretariat. These officers directly report to the minister in their respective ministry or to the respective leader in state bodies.Ireland
In the Civil service of the Republic of Ireland, the position of secretary general of a Department of State is almost identical to that of a permanent secretary in the British Civil Service, except that the position is not permanent, having a term of seven years. This limit was introduced by the Strategic Management Initiative of the mid-1990s, when also the title was changed from "secretary". Irish government departments may also have a "second secretary", which is equivalent to the second permanent secretary grade in the British civil service.Israel
In Israel, the equivalent office is called מנהל כללי, a term which is ordinarily translated as "chief executive officer". The official English translation for the government post is "director general". Directors general of ministries are nominated by the relevant minister and confirmed by the Government, and serve at the pleasure of the ministers above them.Italy
In Italy, the highest civil service official in a ministry or department is either a segretario generale or a direttore generale, while the position of sottosegretario di stato is a political one and ranks below the ministro segretario di stato or the vice ministro, both political posts as well.Japan
The Japanese equivalents are the administrative vice-ministers.Kenya
In Kenya, the equivalent office is called "principal secretary", which is a position established by the Constitution of Kenya as an office in the country's civil service. Principal secretaries serve as the administrative head of a state department within a ministry and are responsible for the department's daily affairs. A principal secretary is nominated by the president of Kenya from a group of persons recommended by the country's Public Service Commission and upon approval by the country's National Assembly, is appointed to office by the president.The Constitution of Kenya grants the president the power to re-assign a principal secretary.