Australia In Australia, the position is called the "department secretary", “secretary of the department”, or “director-general of the department” in some states and territories.
Canada In Canada, the senior civil service position is a "deputy minister", who within a government ministry or department is outranked only by a
minister of the Crown. Federally, deputy ministers are appointed by the prime minister on the advice of the
secretary to the cabinet (the Head of Canada's civil service). They are considered to hold equal rank with parliamentary secretaries or assistants – legislators appointed to assist ministers in their duties – and are entitled to several privileges, including the use of
diplomatic passports.
Germany In Germany, the equivalent office is called "
Staatssekretär" (state secretary). It is not to be confused with the "parliamentary state secretary", who serves as deputy to a minister, often with a more specialised field of responsibilities. The parliamentary state secretary is always a political position, and not part of the civil service.
Hong Kong In
Hong Kong, heads of policy bureaux, secretaries, were filled by
civil servants until their titles were changed to permanent secretaries in 2002, when
political appointees filled the positions of secretaries under the second
Tung Chee Hwa government. Since August 2005, the
Office of the Chief Executive also has a permanent secretary. His ranking is, however, lower than most other permanent secretaries according to the pay scale.
India In India, the equivalent position is called "secretary to the Government of India" and is the highest-ranking permanent civil servant in a department. With the exception of departments within the
Ministry of External Affairs, which are headed by
Indian Foreign Service officers, all Secretaries to the Government of India are drawn from cadres of the
Indian Administrative Service. These officers directly report to
Ministers of the Union within their respective ministry, and oversee all day-to-day operations of their departments. Within the civil service, they are outranked only by the
Cabinet Secretary of India or the
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India when the latter is granted the rank of Cabinet Secretary (as has been the case under Prime Minister
Narendra Modi).
Indonesia In Indonesia, the equivalent position is called secretary-general (, abbreviated
Sekjen), one of the highest-ranking permanent civil servants in a ministry, leads the General Secretariat (, abbreviated
Setjen). These officers directly report to the minister in their respective ministry or to the respective leader in state bodies.
Ireland In the
Civil service of the Republic of Ireland, the position of secretary general of a
Department of State is almost identical to that of a
permanent secretary in the British
Civil Service, except that the position is not permanent, having a term of seven years. This limit was introduced by the Strategic Management Initiative of the mid-1990s, when also the title was changed from "secretary". Irish government departments may also have a "second secretary", which is equivalent to the second permanent secretary grade in the British civil service.
Israel In Israel, the equivalent office is called
מנהל כללי, a term which is ordinarily translated as "chief executive officer". The official English translation for the government post is "director general". Directors general of ministries are nominated by the relevant minister and confirmed by the Government, and serve at the pleasure of the ministers above them.
Italy In Italy, the highest civil service official in a ministry or department is either a
segretario generale (secretary-general) or a
direttore generale (director-general), while the position of
sottosegretario di stato (under-secretary of state) is a political one and ranks below the
ministro segretario di stato (minister-secretary of state, the head of a ministry or department) or the
vice ministro (deputy-minister), both political posts as well.
Japan The Japanese equivalents are the administrative vice-ministers.
Kenya In Kenya, the equivalent office is called "principal secretary", which is a position established by the
Constitution of Kenya as an office in the country's
civil service. Principal secretaries serve as the administrative head of a state department within a ministry and are responsible for the department's daily affairs. A principal secretary is nominated by the
president of Kenya from a group of persons recommended by the country's
Public Service Commission and upon approval by the country's
National Assembly, is appointed to office by the president. The Constitution of Kenya grants the president the power to re-assign a principal secretary.
Malaysia In Malaysia, a permanent secretary refers to the administrative head of a ministry in the states of
Sabah and
Sarawak. The administrative head of a federal ministry is called "secretary general".
Mauritius On the island state of
Mauritius, which is a former British colony, there are a number of permanent secretaries who report to the
Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service. In the prime minister's office there are 2 permanent secretaries, assisted by 3 deputy permanent secretaries as well as 4 assistant permanent secretaries. There are at least 147 Assistant Permanent Secretaries, 86 Deputy Permanent Secretaries and 37 Permanent Secretaries in the various Ministries of the
Government of Mauritius.
New Zealand In New Zealand, the civil service head of a ministry is ordinarily entitled "chief executive", although there are still some positions which carry the title of secretary (secretary of education, secretary of justice, secretary of transport). In some cases (such as the
New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, Ministry for Primary Industries, Department of Conservation, Ministry of Health) the title is "director-general". Organisations with enforcement powers, such as the
Inland Revenue Department and the
New Zealand Police, are headed by commissioners. The New Zealand Customs Service is headed by the comptroller of customs. Civil service heads are officially employed by the
State Services Commission, further separating them from the politicians who hold ministerial positions.
Norway The Permanent Under-Secretary of State of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway is the ministry's top civil servant.
Pakistan In Pakistan, the equivalent position is called Federal Secretary and is the highest ranking permanent civil servant in a federal ministry.
Singapore In Singapore, permanent secretaries have to retire after a ten-year term even if they are younger than the official retirement age of 62. This was introduced in 2000 as part of the Public Service Leadership scheme, to provide opportunities for younger officers from the Administrative Service – the elite arm of the
Civil Service – to rise up the ranks.
Spain In the
General State Administration of
Spain, the closest equivalent is the Under-Secretary (Subsecretario), the highest-ranking career civil servant within a ministry. Appointed by the
Council of Ministers (Spain) upon the proposal of the relevant minister, Under-Secretaries are responsible for the ministry’s internal governance, including the coordination of administrative services, management of personnel and budgetary resources, regulatory oversight, and institutional relations. They ensure the continuity, legality, and efficiency of ministerial operations under the political direction of the minister. The role is regulated primarily by Law 40/2015 on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector.
Sri Lanka In
Sri Lanka, a "secretary to the ministry" (also known as ministry secretary or simply secretary) is the administrative head of a ministry and is appointed by the
president of Sri Lanka. The post of permanent secretary was created under the
Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders in Council 1947 when Ceylon gained self-rule from
Britain in 1948. Permanent secretaries were commonly appointed from the
Ceylon Civil Service, with a few exceptions such as the permanent secretary to the ministry of justice which would be an officer of the judicial service.
Anandatissa de Alwis was the first person from the private sector to be appointed as permanent secretary. The
Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972, changed the title to secretary to the ministry. Traditionally if the appointee is a serving member of the
public service, he or she would leave the service for the duration they hold the appointment. In the recent past it has been common for ministry secretaries to be appointed from outside the public service, with some on political grounds at the discretion of the president on the advice of the minister in charge. Major General
Sanjeewa Munasinghe became the first serving military officer from the regular force to be appointed a ministry secretary in 2020.
United Kingdom The title
permanent secretary, or, in some departments
permanent under-secretary of state, is the most senior
civil servant of a government department in the United Kingdom. The role originated in 1830, and has been adopted in several
Commonwealth countries as well as other countries influenced by the
Westminster system. == See also ==