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 James Alan Noel Barlow,2nd Baronet was a British civil servant and collector of Islamic and Chinese art. He was Principal Private Secretary to Ramsay MacDonald,1933–1934,and later Under-secretary at HM Treasury.
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.
The Shareholder Executive (ShEx) was a body within the UK Government between 2003 and 2016,responsible for managing the government's financial interest in a range of state-owned businesses for commercial rather than political interests. It was part of the Department for Business,Innovation and Skills and staffed by civil servants,many of whom were corporate finance professionals with private sector experience. It was led by Mark Russell as chief executive at the time of its merger into UK Government Investments.
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 Thomas Whinfield Scholar is a British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury from 2016 to 2022. He was previously the prime minister's adviser on European and global issues in the Cabinet Office from 2013 to 2016. He has been a director of the nationalised bank Northern Rock,and served as chief of staff for Gordon Brown.
Lieutenant General Sir Alistair Stuart Hastings Irwin,is a retired British Army officer and a former Adjutant-General to the Forces.
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.
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. His roles included permanent secretary of the Department for Business,Innovation and Skills (2010–2016),and of the Department for International Trade (2016–2017).
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 John Adam Thomson,was a British diplomat who served as High Commissioner to India and Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Sir John Edward 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.
