Michael Quinlan (civil servant)

Quinlan was born on 11 August 1930 in Hampton, Middlesex, England He completed his national service in the RAF between 1952 and 1954. ==Civil Service career==

In 1954, Quinlan joined the Air Ministry as a civil servant. He was Deputy Secretary (policy and programmes) at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) from 1977 to 1981. He was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence from 1988 to 1992. These years saw the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Outside the Ministry of Defence he was Permanent Secretary, Department of Employment (1983–88); Deputy Secretary, HM Treasury (1981–82) and Under-Secretary, Cabinet Office (1974–77). He retired from the Civil Service in 1992. ==Later life==

On retirement, Quinlan became Director of the Ditchley Foundation, holding the position until 1999. In 2001, he became Chairman of The Tablet Trust, publisher of the Catholic newspaper The Tablet. He was one of the world's foremost experts in deterrence theory, contributing to debate and books in this field. He also wrote his own book on this matter shortly before his death. His contributions were recognised by Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in a speech given on 17 March 2009. Historian of government Peter Hennessy called him the leading in-house defence intellectual MOD has possessed since World War II. He died on 26 February 2009. ==Honours==

As part of the 1991 New Year Honours, Quinlan was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). ==Personal life==

Quinlan married Mary Finlay in 1965, with whom he had four children including actress and comedy writer Carrie Quinlan. He was a devout Roman Catholic. ==References==