Principal Private Secretary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the British Civil Service the Principal Private Secretary is the Civil Servant who runs a minister's private office.

[edit] Trivia

A classic explanation is provided in the British sitcom Yes Minister.

Sir Humphrey (the Permanent Secretary) briefs Hacker (the Minister) on the Department's workings:

'I am the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, known as the Permanent Secretary. Woolley here is your Principal Private Secretary; I too have a Principal Private Secretary and he is the Principal Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary. Directly responsible to me are 10 Deputy Secretaries, 87 Under Secretaries and 219 Assistant Secretaries. Directly responsible to the Principal Private Secretaries are plain Private Secretaries, and the Prime Minister will be appointing two Parliamentary Under-Secretaries and you will be appointing your own Parliamentary Private Secretary.'

'Can they all type?' joshes Hacker.

'None of us can type, Minister,' Humphrey responds, 'Mrs. Mackay types; She's the secretary.'

'Pity, we could have opened an agency,' Hacker quips.

'Very droll, Sir,' replies Humphrey.

'I suppose they all say that, do they?' Hacker asks.

'Certainly not Minister. Not quite all..." answers Humphrey.

(From the episode "Open Government", transmitted 25 February 1980)

[edit] See also

• Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister