In the United Kingdom, the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, which is led by a cabinet of ministers chosen by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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 Government of India is the government of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territories. The government is led by the prime minister who exercises the most executive power and selects all the other ministers. The country has been governed by a NDA-led government since 2014. The prime minister and their senior ministers belong to the Union Council of Ministers—its executive decision-making committee being the cabinet.
The civil service of the People's Republic of China is the administrative system of the traditional Chinese government which consists of all levels who run the day-to-day affairs in China. The members of the civil service are selected through competitive examination.
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.
The Government of Pakistan, constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, consisting of four provinces and one federal territory. The territories of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir are also part of the country but have separate systems and are not part of the federation.
Bangladesh Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym BCS, is the civil service of Bangladesh. Civil service in the Indian subcontinent originated from the Imperial Civil Service which was the elite higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule, in the period between 1858 and 1947. After the partition of 1947, East Bengal became a province of Pakistan, and the successor to the Imperial Civil Service in Pakistan was Central Superior Services. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, it became known as Bangladesh Civil Service by an ordinance from the then President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family.
The Cabinet Secretary is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the Government of India. The Cabinet Secretary is the ex-officio head of the Civil Services Board, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), and all Civil Services of India work under the rules of business of the government.
The Cabinet of Bangladesh is the chief executive body in the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The cabinet is the collective decision-making body of the entire government normally under the Office of the Prime Minister, composed of the prime minister and other cabinet ministers. During a caretaker government or interim government, the cabinet is instead composed of the chief adviser and other cabinet advisers. These "advisorial" positions are equivalent to their respective ministerial positions.
Jalaluddin Abdur Rahim was a Pakistani communist and political philosopher who was known as one of the founding members of the Pakistan People's Party—a democratic socialist political party. Abdur Rahim was also the first Secretary-General of the Pakistan People's Party, served as the first minister of production. A Bengali civil servant, Abdur Rahim was a philosopher who politically guided Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, serving as his mentor, and had helped Bhutto navigate through the minefield of bureaucratic establishment when Ayub Khan had taken Bhutto into his cabinet. Abdur Rahim also guided Bhutto after Bhutto was deposed as Foreign Minister, critically guiding Bhutto to take down the once US-sponsored dictatorship of Ayub Khan.
Joint Secretary to the Government of India is a post under the Central Staffing Scheme and the third highest non-political executive rank in the Government of India. The authority for creation of this post solely rests with the Cabinet of India.
Sir Richard Nicholas Heaton, KCB is a barrister and former senior British civil servant who was the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery from September 2015 until resigning in August 2020. He had previously served as Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, and First Parliamentary Counsel. He currently serves as Warden of Robinson College, Cambridge.
The Chief Secretary is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the state government. The Chief Secretary is the ex-officio head of the state Civil Services Board, the State Secretariat, the state cadre Indian Administrative Service and all civil services under the rules of business of the state government. The Chief Secretary acts as the principal advisor to the chief minister on all matters of state administration.
Secretary to the Government of India, often abbreviated as Secretary, GoI, or simply as Secretary, is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. The authority for the creation of this post solely rests with the Union Council of Ministers.
Abdur Rouf Talukder is a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank who served during 2022–2024. Prior to this position, he had served as the senior secretary of the Ministry of Finance. He previously served as a director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
Ali Imam Majumder is an advisor to the 2024 Bangladesh interim government. He is a former Bangladeshi government official who served as the cabinet secretary. He is the secretary general of Transparency International Bangladesh and an executive committee member of Citizens for Good Governance (SHUJAN).
Md. Mahbub Hossain is a retired Bangladesh civil servant and former Cabinet Secretary of Bangladesh. Prior to this position, he was Senior Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. He also served as the chairperson of Titas Gas and Gas Transmission Company Limited. He is the chairman of Omera LPG as nominee of MJL Bangladesh Limited. He is a director of Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited.
Sheikh Abdur Rashid is a Bangladeshi government official who has served as the chairman of Petrobangla and additional secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs. In 2024, the Yunus Interim Government brought him back from retirement as secretary in the Department of Secondary and Higher Education. Later, he was promoted to the position of secretary and is currently serving as the 25th Cabinet Secretary of Bangladesh.
Mohammad Abdul Momen is a civil servant and secretary of the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs. He was appointed after the fall of the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina and he sent a number of police officers into retirement after his appointment. He is a member of the board of governors of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies.
Chief Adviser