Aprivate secretary(PS) is acivil servantin a governmental department orministry,responsible to asecretary of stateorminister;or a public servant in aroyal household,responsible to a member of theroyal family.
The role exists in thecivil service of the United Kingdomand severalCommonwealthcountries includingAustralia,IndiaandNew Zealandas well as other countries influenced by theWestminster system.A private secretary is normally of middle management level; however, as the key official responsible for disseminating ministers' decisions and guidance on matters of policy, and as their gatekeeper, the role is of considerably greater significance than their grade would suggest. Depending on the status of the political principal the official works for, they may be aided by an assistant private secretary (APS), or head aprivate office.
Aprincipal private secretary,or senior private secretary, is a senior civil servant who runs acabinet minister's private office. A similar role to a principal private secretary in theUnited States federal governmentwould bechief of staff.
Theprivate secretary to the sovereignis viewed as being equivalent to apermanent secretary,the head of a government department.
In the United Kingdom
editGovernment
editThe role of the private secretary to asecretary of stateoriginated in the 18th century.[1]Today, a juniorministermay have a three-person private office consisting of a private secretary and two assistant private secretaries; whereas a more senior minister may have a five-person private office consisting of a senior private secretary, private secretary and three assistant private secretaries. The same applies to a Cabinet-level minister's private office but on a larger scale, due to a cabinet minister usually being responsible for entire government departments and agencies.[2]
Private secretaries who are members of theSenior Civil Serviceare referred to as a principal private secretary.[2][3]The order of precedence is principal private secretary, senior private secretary (rarely now in existence), private secretary and assistant private secretary. A similar role to a principal private secretary in theUnited States federal governmentwould bechief of staff.
The private secretary is the principal link between a government minister and officials in the department or ministry. He or she has overall responsibility for coordinating the development of the minister's policy remit, ensuring that the decisions of the minister are clearly and fully implemented by the department. In that respect a PS and APS will often be in a position of debate with colleagues of much higher seniority, as well as be a sounding board for senior officials in the department and other ministerial private offices inWhitehall.[2][4][5]
A PS or an APS is always in attendance with the minister at every official meeting or event to provide support; and to ensure that a member of the Civil Service, who are non-political appointees, takes a factual note of discussions and commitments made. They also have ownership of the ministerial diary, managing the minister's time with the diary secretary. This means prioritising invitations, commitments, policy briefings and submissions and parliamentary business. A PS is always the initial source of advice to Ministers on policy, parliamentary protocol, the process of cabinet government and departmental administration.[2]
Often the PS and APS will take on specific responsibilities within the private office, dividing their minister's portfolio between them, with each PS dealing solely with policy, correspondence and diary matters relating to it. They often deputise and support other members of the PO temporarily, but would be considered subject matter experts for that area of work in the department.
Working in a private office as a private secretary or an assistant private secretary is highly desired due to widely being seen as essential for advancement to theSenior Civil Service.Although considered to be a highly rewarding and sought-after post, it is one of the most difficult when compared to others at the equivalent grade.[2][6]
Depending upon the seniority of their political principal, private secretaries may be regarded as important officials in their own right; thePrincipal Private Secretary to the Prime Ministerbeing the most important and is currently equivalent to a Director General in the Civil Service. Other notable positions include thePrincipal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairsand thePrivate Secretary for Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister.
AParliamentary Private Secretary(PPS) is amember of Parliamentappointed to act as unpaid assistant to a minister, and should not be confused with a private secretary.
The Sovereign and other royal households
editThePrivate Secretary to the Sovereignis viewed as being equivalent to aPermanent Secretary,the head of a government department. Private secretaries also work in theroyal householdsfor the other working members of theBritish royal family.[7]The household of thePrince of Wales,asheir apparentto theBritish throne,is led by a principal private secretary, who runs his private office.[8]
Armed Forces
editIn theBritish Armed Forces,theNaval Secretary,Military Secretary,andAir Secretaryare senior officers appointed to advise theFirst Sea Lord,Chief of the General Staff,and theChief of the Air Staffon administrative matters. The Naval Secretary was known as the Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty from 1800 to 1910.[9]
In popular culture
editA classic explanation is provided in the British sitcomYes Minister.
- Sir Humphrey (the Permanent Secretary) briefs Hacker (the Minister) on the Department's workings:
Hacker:Who else is in this department?
Sir Humphrey:Well briefly, sir, I am the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, known as the Permanent Secretary. Woolley here is your Principal Private Secretary. I too have a Principal Private Secretary and he is the Principal Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly responsible to me are ten Deputy Secretaries, 87 Under Secretaries and 219 Assistant Secretaries. Directly responsible to the Principal Private Secretaries are plain Private Secretaries, and the Prime Minister will be appointing two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries and you will be appointing your own Parliamentary Private Secretary.
Hacker:Can they all type?
Sir Humphrey:None of us can type. Mrs MacKay types: she's the secretary.
Hacker:Pity, we could have opened an agency.
Sir Humphrey:Very droll, Minister.
Hacker:I suppose they all say that, do they?
Sir Humphrey:Certainly not, Minister. Not quite all...
(From the episode "Open Government",transmitted 25 February 1980)
In the Commonwealth
editAustralia
editInAustralian Public Servicethe principal private secretary is the civil servant who runs a cabinet minister's private office.
India
editStaff of the Union Cabinet
editIn India, the post of private secretary (PS) and an additional private secretary (APS) to theUnion Council of Ministers of India(cabinet ministers and minister of state) are Group A (All India ServicesorCentral Civil Services) officers, appointed by thePresident of India.[10][11]InPrime Minister's Office (India),the private secretary toPrime Minister of Indiais always in the rank and post ofJoint secretary to the Government of India.
Staff in civil services
editSenior principal private secretary (Senior PPS) is a member of Central Secretariat Stenographers Service and is one rank above principal private secretary that takes care of the office of a secretary to the Government of India or the equivalent rank officer Member CBIC[12]or Member Railway Board.[13]
P.S.O. is principal staff officer,[14]who is also a member of Central Secretariat Stenographers Service and a rank above senior principal private secretary that takes care of the office of a secretary to the Government of India or an equivalently ranked member of the Central Board for Excise and Customs,[15]member of the Railway Board, or the chairman. Pay is equivalent to that of a director to the Government of India.
New Zealand
editPersons holding the role of private secretary to a minister in New Zealand are civil servants.
Senior Private Secretaries are the equivalent of a chief of staff and have the responsibility of managing a minister's office. Members of Parliament who are appointed as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary are also entitled to appoint a Senior Private Secretary to their staff.
Outside the Commonwealth
editJapan
editA system of the ministerial secretary (Bí thư quan,Hishokan), one to several per minister playing a role similar to the private secretary's, is also employed by thepolitical system in Japan.The seven secretaries appointed to theprime ministerare called the executive secretaries to the prime minister (Nội các tổng lý đại thần bí thư quan).
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Sainty, J. C. (1973). "Introduction".Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 2 - Officials of the Secretaries of State 1660-1782.University of London. pp.1–21.
Something should be said at this point about Private Secretaries. In the establishments of the Home, Foreign and War Offices drawn up in 1795 provision was made for salaried Private Secretaries to the Secretaries of State. Before 1782, however, the arrangements in this respect lacked definition and appear to have varied widely.
- ^abcde"Ministers' private offices".Institute for Government. 21 October 2020.
- ^Lee, John Michael; George William Jones; June Burnham (1998).At the centre of Whitehall: advising the Prime Minister and Cabinet.Palgrave Macmillan.pp.42–44.ISBN978-0-312-17730-0.
- ^Bowles, Edward."The Role Of The Private Secretary"(PDF).
- ^"UK Civil Service - Key Skills - Working with Ministers".www.civilservant.org.uk.Retrieved2021-03-20.
- ^"Lurking your way to the top: life as a private secretary".Civil Service World.2020-06-25.Retrieved2021-03-20.
- ^"The importance of a Private Secretary – the most trusted of royal aides".Royal Central.2021-01-22.Retrieved2021-03-21.
- ^"Remarks by the Principal Private Secretary Clive Alderton at the Annual Review 2018 Media Briefing | Prince of Wales".www.princeofwales.gov.uk.Retrieved2021-03-21.
- ^Hamilton, C.I. (2003)."Expanding Naval Powers: Admiralty Private Secretaries and Private Offices, 1800–1945".War in History.10(2):125–156.doi:10.1191/0968344503wh276oa.ISSN0968-3445.JSTOR26061639.
- ^"Consolidated Instructions to the appointment of personal staff to Union Ministers"(PDF).Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 December 2014.Retrieved26 May2014.
- ^"Why babus want to be private secys to ministers now".GovernanceNow.com. 9 May 2013.Retrieved16 May2015.
- ^Member CBEC
- ^Member Railway Board
- ^P.S.O., Principal Staff Officer
- ^Member of the Central Board for Excise and Customs