In the British Government, the Cabinet Secretary, or more formally Secretary of the Cabinet, is the senior civil servant in charge of the Cabinet Office, a department that provides administrative support to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and the government as a whole. The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ... Cabinet Office can be either: Cabinet Office in the United Kingdom, Cabinet Office in Japan. ... A prime minister may be either: the chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives... A Cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ...

The Cabinet Secretary is also usually the Head of the Home Civil Service, and in this role is responsible for all the civil servants of the various departments within government. This is a complicated role, as the departments and their senior civil servants (Permanent Secretaries) tend to jealously guard their independence from Downing Street. The Permanent Secretary, in most departments officially titled the Permanent Under-Secretary of State (although the full title is rarely used), is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis. ... Downing Street is the world-famous street in central London which contains the buildings that have been, for over two hundred years, the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers, the First Lord of the Treasury, an office held by the Prime Minister of the United...

The responsibilities of the job vary from time to time and depend very much on the personal qualities of both the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary. In most cases the true influence of the Cabinet Secretary extends far beyond administrative matters, and reaches to the very heart of the decision making process. For instance, the Cabinet Secretary is responsible for administering the Ministerial Code which governs the conduct of ministers (also known as the Rule Book and formerly Questions of Procedure for Ministers). In this duty the Cabinet Secretary may be asked to investigate "leaks" within government, and enforce cabinet discipline. Unusually in a democracy, this gives the unelected Cabinet Secretary some authority over elected ministers, although the constitutional authority of the Code is somewhat ambiguous.

The Cabinet Secretary also has some responsibility for overseeing the intelligence services and their relationship to the government. In the current Blair government, this responsibility has been delegated to Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator and Permanent Secretary, Sir David Omand, while the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Andrew Turnbull has been asked to prioritize civil service reforms, including the expansion of e-government. The Right Honourable Anthony Charles Lynton Tony Blair (born 6 May 1953) is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... Sir Andrew Turnbull (born January 21, 1945) is the head of Britains civil service (the British Civil Service) and Cabinet Secretary. ... The term (in all its uses) is generally agreed to derive from electronic government which introduces the notion and practicalities of electronic technology into the various dimensions and ramifications of government. ...

It was announced on 15 June 2005 that Sir Gus O'Donnell KCB, Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury would replace Andrew Turnbull on his retirement at the end of the summer. Sir Gus ODonnell KCB (born 1955) is a high-ranking British civil servant, the Permanent Secretary of the Treasury in the British Civil Service. ... Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... The Permanent Secretary, in most departments officially titled the Permanent Under-Secretary of State (although the full title is rarely used), is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis. ... The new eastern entrance to HM Treasury HM Treasury (Her/His Majestys Treasury) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for and putting into effect the UK Governments financial and economic policy. ...

Secretaries of the Cabinet since 1963

The position was created in 1916 and combined with that of Head of the Home Civil Service in 1981. The holder retires at or slightly after the Civil Service retirement age of 60 and is now customarily created a life peer. 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A mandatory retirement age is the age at which persons who hold certain jobs or offices are required by statute to step down, or retire. ...

• Sir Burke Trend, later Baron Trend (1963-1973)
• Sir John Hunt, now Baron Hunt of Tanworth (1973-1979)
• Sir Robert Armstrong, now Baron Armstrong of Ilminster (1979-1988)
• Sir Robin Butler, now Baron Butler of Brockwell (1988-1998)
• Sir Richard Wilson, now Baron Wilson of Dinton (1998-2002)
• Sir Andrew Turnbull (2002-2005)
• Sir Gus O'Donnell (2005-)