Jon Shortridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jon Shortridge became Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Office in March 1999 and of the National Assembly on its creation in May 1999. He was educated at Chichester High School and has a degree (MA) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University, and in Urban Design and Regional Planning (MSc) from Edinburgh University.

He spent the first six years of his career in the Ministry of Housing, the Countryside Commission, and the Department of the Environment, and worked as a planner for Shropshire County Council for 9 years.

He joined the Welsh Office in 1984. Between 1987 and 1988 he was Private Secretary to two Secretaries of State for Wales. From 1988 to 1992 he was Head of the Welsh Office’s Finance Division. In August 1992 he was given responsibility for reorganising local government in Wales. He undertook the Senior Management Review of the Welsh Office in 1995, and was appointed Director of Economic Affairs in 1997, with responsibility for establishing the National Assembly for Wales.

He is 59 and married to Diana, with a daughter and a son. His interests include sailing, walking, tennis, rowing and modern history.

He was knighted in 2002.

He is not a Welsh-speaker, but is reputedly taking lessons.