Permanent Secretary - Outside The UK

Outside The UK

In some countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, the popular term for the equivalent position is now “Principal Secretary”.

In Australia, the position is called the "Departmental Secretary", “Secretary of the Department”, or “Director-General of the Department” in some states and territories.

In Canada, the position is “Deputy Minister”, as the political head of a department/ministry is generally called a Minister.

In Germany, the equivalent office is called Staatssekretär (state secretary).

In Hong Kong, heads of policy bureaux, i.e., Secretaries, were filled by civil servants until their titles were changed to Permanent Secretaries in 2002, when political appointees filled the positions of secretaries under the second Tung Chee Hwa government. Since August 2005, the Office of the Chief Executive also has a permanent secretary. His ranking is, however, lower than most other permanent secretaries according to the pay scale.

In the Republic of Ireland, the position of "Secretary-General" of a Department is almost identical to that of a Permanent Secretary in the British Civil Service, with the exception that since the introduction in the mid-1990s of the Strategic Management Initiative, the post is no longer permanent, but carries a seven year time limit. This coincided with the introduction of the change of title from the previous title of “Secretary”. Irish government departments may also have a “Second Secretary”, which is equivalent to the Second Permanent Secretary grade in the British Civil Service. See also Civil service of the Republic of Ireland.

In Italy] the highest Civil Service official in a Ministry or Department is either a Segretario Generale (Secretary-General) or a Direttore Generale (Director-General), while the position of Sottosegretario di Stato (Under-Secretary of State) is a political one and ranks below the Ministro Segretario di Stato (Minister-Secretary of State, the head of a Ministry or Department) or the Vice Ministro (Deputy-Minister), both political posts as well.

In New Zealand, the civil service head of a ministry is ordinarily entitled “Chief Executive”, though in some cases (such as the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service) the title is “Director-General”. Organisations with enforcement powers, such as the Inland Revenue Department, the New Zealand Police, and the New Zealand Customs Service are headed by commissioners. Civil service heads are officially employed by the State Services Commission, further separating them from the politicians who hold ministerial positions.

In Singapore, Permanent Secretaries have to retire after a 10-year term even if they are younger than the official retirement age of 62 in Singapore, starting in 2000 when the Public Service Leadership scheme was introduced. This is to provide opportunities for younger officers from the Administrative Service – the elite arm of the Civil Service – to rise up the rank.

In Sri Lanka, the post of Permanent Secretary is the civil service head of the ministry. Normally referred to as Secretary, non civil service, political appointees are regularly appointed.