The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the British Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The chief of the defence staff is based at the Ministry of Defence and works alongside the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence,the ministry's senior civil servant. The Chief of Defence is the highest ranking officer to currently serve in the armed forces.
Sir David Bruce Omand is a British former senior civil servant who served as the Director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) from 1996 to 1997.
Peter Forbes Ricketts,Baron Ricketts,is a retired British senior diplomat and a life peer. He has sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords since 2016.
Sir Robert John Sawers FRUSI is a British intelligence officer,diplomat and civil servant. He was Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6),a position he held from November 2009 until November 2014. He was previously the British Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2007 to November 2009.
Sir Nigel Elton Sheinwald is a former senior British diplomat,who served as Ambassador to the United States of America between October 2007 and January 2012. He was appointed "Special Envoy on intelligence and law enforcement data sharing" in September 2014.
Air Marshal Sir Timothy Michael Anderson,is a retired senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer. He served as the inaugural Director-General of the UK Military Aviation Authority (MAA) from 2010 to 2013. The MAA was established in response to the Haddon-Cave Review into the issues surrounding the loss of an RAF Nimrod over Afghanistan in September 2006. Earlier in his career,Anderson was a fast jet pilot,primarily flying the Tornado ground attack aircraft,and as Officer Commanding No. 14 Squadron led the United Kingdom's Tornado commitment to Operation Allied Force,the NATO air campaign over Kosovo in 1999,for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He is currently Chairman of the UK Airspace Change Organising Group Steering Committee,overseeing a national infrastructure programme on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport and the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Sir Frank Godbould Lee was a British public servant and Master of Corpus Christi College,Cambridge.
Sir Simon James Fraser is a British former diplomat who served as the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from August 2010 to July 2015,having served as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business,Innovation and Skills from May 2009 to August 2010. Sir Simon is a Trustee of the Patchwork Foundation,founded by Harris Bokhari. Sir Simon is currently Deputy Chairman of Chatham House and serves as Adviser to the Europe Programme. He is also Managing Partner of Flint Global.
Sir John Gilbert Laithwaite was a British civil servant and diplomat,born and raised in Ireland. He reached the top of his profession,becoming Permanent Secretary of the Commonwealth Relations Office in 1955.
Lieutenant General Sir Barnabas William Benjamin White-Spunner,is a retired British Army officer,who was subsequently executive chairman of the Countryside Alliance until 2016. He is an author,a director of Burstock Ltd. and was appointed chairman of the advisory board of UK Fisheries Ltd in October 2018.
Sir Mark Justin Lyall Grant,is a former senior British diplomat who was previously the United Kingdom's National Security Adviser and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations.
Mark Philip Sedwill,Baron Sedwill,is a British diplomat and senior civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service to Prime Ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson from 2018 to 2020. He also served as the United Kingdom National Security Adviser from 2017 to 2020. He was previously the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010 and the NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan in 2010. He was the Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from February 2013 to April 2017.
Sir Simon Lawrance Gass is a British civil servant. He chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee from 2019 to 2023 and served as the British Prime Minister's representative on Afghanistan from 2021 to 2022 concurrently. Between 2018 and 2019,he was the Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies. During his diplomatic career,he served as British ambassador to Greece and to Iran. In May 2023,it was announced he was stepping down as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and succeeded by Madeleine Alessandri.
Sir Martin Eugene Donnelly,is a British former civil servant. He was Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Trade,until leaving the Civil Service on 24 March 2017.
Lieutenant General Sir John Gordon Lorimer,is a retired senior British Army officer,who served as the Chief of Joint Operations and the Defence Senior Adviser to the Middle East and North Africa. He was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man on 29 September 2021.
Sir Roger William Jackling was a British diplomat who was ambassador to West Germany 1968–72.
Sir John Killick GCMG was a British diplomat who was ambassador to the Soviet Union,and later ambassador to NATO.
Admiral Sir Benjamin John Key,is a senior Royal Navy officer. He has served as First Sea Lord since November 2021. He has commanded HM Ships Sandown,Iron Duke and Lancaster,and deployed on operations to Kosovo and Iraq. He was appointed Fleet Commander in 2016,and the Chief of Joint Operations in 2019.
Sir Clive Anthony Whitmore is a former British senior civil servant.
As part of the British honours system,Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative,operational honours,political honours and other honours awarded outside the New Years Honours and Birthday Honours.
