09 June 2011
The Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, Sir Gus O'Donnell, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Lowcock as the new Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development (DFID).
Mark Lowcock, who was previously the Director General for Country Programmes at DFID, was chosen following an open competition. This follows Nemat (Minouche) Shafik’s recent move to become Deputy Managing Director at the IMF.
The appointment has been approved by the Prime Minister and by the Secretary of State for the Department, the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP.
Mark Lowcock will take up post immediately.
The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, said:
"I am delighted that Mark has been appointed as Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development. He brings to the role a wealth of experience working both in the UK and overseas on development policy, and is an internationally recognised expert in his field.
"He is also an outstanding leader with all the skills necessary to lead the Department through the years ahead and build on the excellent work of his predecessor, Minouche Shafik, following her recent move to become Deputy Managing Director of the IMF."
Commenting on his new role, Mark Lowcock said:
"I am delighted to have the opportunity to support the Secretary of State in leading the Department as we implement the coalition government’s international development priorities."
The Secretary of State, Andrew Mitchell, said:
"I am extremely pleased with this appointment. Mark has not only an excellent reputation and experience in international development, but his financial qualifications equip him to make sure that we get 100 pence of value for every pound of taxpayers' money we spend on tackling extreme poverty in the developing world."
Notes to Editors
Mark Lowcock has been Director General, Country Programmes since 2008. He is one of the five executives on the DFID Management Board.
Mark began his career in DFID (formally the Overseas Development Administration) in 1985. From 1992-94, he was Private Secretary to Baroness Chalker, Minister for Overseas Development. From 1994-97, he was Deputy Head and latterly Head of the DFID Regional Office for Central Africa (based in Harare). He then became Head of European Union Department until 1999, before returning to Africa as Head of the DFID Regional Office for East Africa (based in Nairobi).
In 2001 he was appointed Director, Finance and Corporate Performance, before being promoted to Director General, Corporate Performance and Knowledge Sharing in 2003. In April 2006 he was made Director General, Policy and International and then in April 2008 he was appointed Director General, Country Programmes.
Mark Lowcock has a BA in economics and history from Oxford University. He gained a Masters in economics at Birkbeck College, London in 1988, and was then a Graduate Fellow at Boston University, USA, studying economics and business administration (1988-89). He is a qualified accountant and a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
For more information contact DFID press office on 020 7023 0600.
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