Sir Michael Quinlan, GCB (11 August 1930 – 26 February 2009) was a distinguished former British defence strategist and former Permanent Under-Secretary of State (generally known as the Permanent Secretary) at the British Ministry of Defence, who has written and lectured on defence and matters of international security, especially nuclear weapon policies and doctrine, and also on concepts of ‘Just War’ and related ethical issues.
Quinlan was educated at Wimbledon College and Merton College, Oxford. He married Mary Finlay in 1965, with whom he had four children.
On retirement from the Civil Service in 1992, Quinlan became Director of the Ditchley Foundation. In 2001 he became Chairman of the The Tablet Trust, publisher of the Catholic newspaper The Tablet.
Quinlan was one of the world's foremost experts in deterrence theory, contributing to debate and books in this field. He also wrote his own book on this matter shortly before his death. His contributions were recognised by Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in a speech given on 17 March 2009.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Kenneth Barnes |
Permanent Secretary of the Department of Employment 1983 – 1988 |
Succeeded by Sir Geoffrey Holland |
| Preceded by Sir Clive Whitmore |
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence 1988 - 1992 |
Succeeded by Sir Christopher France |