Sir Stephen Lovegrove
Biography
Stephen became National Security Adviser in March 2021.
Prior to this he was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence from 2016-2021 and Permanent Secretary for Department of Energy & Climate Change from 2013-2016.
Stephen spent nine years at the Shareholder Executive, now UK Government Investments, where he was appointed Chief Executive in June 2007. He previously worked in investment banking and strategic consultancy. Stephen also sat on the board of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and was a trustee of the Charities Aid Foundation.
Responsibilities
The National Security Adviser is the principal official adviser to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on national security matters and the responsibilities include:
- Providing advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on national security. This includes strategy, policy,
- capability and civil contingencies.
- Acting as Secretary to the National Security Council.
- Leadership to and management of the national security teams in the Cabinet Office.
- Bringing together the wider national security community across Whitehall and our overseas network.
- Cultivating and maintaining a network of international stakeholders as well as contacts with relevant counterparts, businesses, industry and civil society groups.
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent Secretary is the government’s principal civilian adviser on defence, has primary responsibility for policy, finance and planning, and is the Departmental Accounting Officer. He or she reports to the Head of the Civil Service and is a member of the Defence Council, and the Defence Board. He or she co-chairs, with Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), the Defence Strategy Group.
Responsibilities
The Permanent Secretary’s responsibilities include:
- leading defence (with CDS)
- setting strategy for defence, including corporate strategy (subject to ministers’ direction, and together with CDS)
- heading the Department of State and the MOD Civil Service
- providing policy advice to ministers and leading the relationship with other government departments;
- the overall organisation, management and staffing of defence
- performing the full range of Accounting Officer responsibilities, including the delegation of financial and other authority and accountability to senior colleagues, with personal accountability to Parliament for the economic, efficient and effective use of defence resources
Previous roles in government
- Permanent Secretary, DECC
- Chief Executive, Shareholder Executive