New top civil servant for DFID
Mark Lowcock has been appointed as the new Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development.
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.
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.