Mark Sedwill

Sir Mark Sedwill
KCMG
Mark Sedwill
Cabinet Secretary
Acting
Assumed office
25 June 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May
Preceded by Sir Jeremy Heywood
United Kingdom National Security Adviser
Assumed office
13 April 2017
Prime Minister Theresa May
Preceded by Sir Mark Lyall Grant
Permanent Secretary at the Home Office
In office
1 February 2013 – 5 April 2017
Prime Minister David Cameron
Theresa May
Preceded by Geoffrey Adams
Succeeded by Philip Rutnam
Director, Afghanistan & Pakistan of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
In office
2010–2012
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Karen Pierce
NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan
In office
January 2010 – June 2010
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
David Cameron
Preceded by Fernando Gentilini
Succeeded by Simon Gass
Personal details
Born Mark Philip Sedwill
(1964-10-21) 21 October 1964
Ealing
Nationality British
Alma mater University of St Andrews
St Edmund Hall, Oxford

Sir Mark Philip Sedwill KCMG[1][2] (born 21 October 1964) is a British diplomat and civil servant, who served as 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 Secretary at the UK Home Office from 1 February 2013 to April 2017.[3] On 27 February 2017, it was announced that in April he would replace Sir Mark Lyall Grant on his retirement as the UK National Security Adviser, and Sedwill would be replaced by Philip Rutnam.[4]

On 25 June 2018, it was announced that Sir Jeremy Heywood would take a three month leave of absence from the position of Cabinet Secretary with immediate effect, and Sedwill would serve as Acting Cabinet Secretary during this period.[5]

Early life and education

Sedwill was born in Ealing. He attended Bourne Grammar School in Bourne, Lincolnshire, becoming the Head Boy. He went to the University of St Andrews, where he gained a Bachelor of Science (BSc), and later gained a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) from St Edmund Hall, Oxford.[2]

Career

Sedwill joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1989 and he served in the Security Coordination Department and the Gulf War Emergency Unit until 1991.

He was then posted in Cairo, Egypt, from 1991 to 1994 as a Second Secretary, then First Secretary in Iraq from 1996 to 1997 whilst serving as a United Nations weapons inspector, then in Nicosia, Cyprus, as First Secretary for Political-Military Affairs and Counterterrorism from 1997 to 1999. He was the Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Robin Cook and Jack Straw) from 2000 to 2002 in the runup to and preparations for the 2003 Iraq invasion.[2]

He then served as the Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan, based in Islamabad from 2003 to 2005, then the Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Department of the Foreign Office. From 2006 to 2008, he served as International Director of the UK Border Agency.[2][6]

Afghanistan ambassador and NATO roles

In April 2009, Sedwill became the Ambassador to Afghanistan, succeeding Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles. In January 2010, he was additionally appointed as NATO's Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan,[7][8] to be the civilian counterpart to the ISAF Commander, U.S. General Stanley A. McChrystal and then U.S. General David H. Petraeus. He was succeeded as ambassador temporarily by his predecessor, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, and then by Sir William Patey, formerly British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.[2]

In May 2011, Sedwill took over as the FCO's Director-General for Afghanistan and Pakistan (and thus as the UK's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan) from Karen Pierce CMG. He additionally became the FCO's Director-General, Political in Autumn 2012, replacing Sir Geoffrey Adams.

Home Office

On 9 January 2013, it was announced that Sedwill was to become the next Permanent Secretary at the Home Office filling the vacancy left by Dame Helen Ghosh from 1 February 2013.[3] As of 2015, Sedwill was paid a salary of between £180,000 and £184,999, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.[9]

National Security Adviser

On 27 February 2017, it was announced that Sedwill is to replace Sir Mark Lyall Grant as National Security Adviser in the Cabinet Office from April.

Personal life

Sedwill married in 1999 and has one daughter. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 2008.[1] He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (FIoD).[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "No. 58729". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2008-06-14. p. 3.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "SEDWILL, Mark Philip". Who's Who 2013. A & C Black. December 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-11.
  3. 1 2 "New permanent secretary for the Home Office". Home Office website. Her Majesty's Government. 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2013-01-11.
  4. ↑ "Cabinet office: new senior appointments and changes - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  5. ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-heywood-cancer-treatment-cabinet-secretary-absence-civil-service-head-a8416201.html
  6. ↑ "300,000 UK visas 'wrongly issued'". BBC News. 18 November 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Ambassador Mark Sedwill". NATO. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  8. ↑ Foreign & Commonwealth Office (26 January 2010). "NATO names Mark Sedwill as Senior Civilian Representative". Her Majesty's Government. Archived from the original on 15 November 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  9. ↑ "Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015 - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2016-03-13.

Video clips

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles		 British Ambassador to Afghanistan
2009–10		 Succeeded by
Sir William Patey
Preceded by
Fernando Gentilini		 NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan
January–June 2010		 Succeeded by
Sir Simon Gass
Preceded by
Karen Pierce		 Director, Afghanistan & Pakistan of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
2010–2012		 Succeeded by
Richard Crompton
as Director, South Asia and Afghanistan
Preceded by
Sir Geoffrey Adams		 Director-General, Political of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
2012–2013		 Succeeded by
Sir Simon Gass
Government offices
Preceded by
Dame Helen Ghosh		 Permanent Secretary of the
Home Office
2013–2017		 Succeeded by
Philip Rutnam
Preceded by
Sir Mark Lyall Grant		 National Security Advisor
2017–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Sir Jeremy Heywood		 Cabinet Secretary
2018–present
Acting		 Incumbent

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