Chief Secretary
Encyclopedia
The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations
, and, historically, in the British Empire
. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony
of the British Empire
after the Governor
.
where the equivalent title was Provincial Secretary
. In 1821, Governor of New South Wales Philip Gidley King
wrote that the Colonial Secretary:
"Has the custody of all official papers and records belonging to the colony; transcribes the public despatches; charged with making out all grants, leases and other public Colonial instruments; also the care of numerous indents or lists sent with convicts of their terms of conviction, and every other official transaction relating to the Colony and Government; and is a situation of much responsibility and confidence."
In Ireland, the role of Chief Secretary
dated from 1660.
After the grant of responsible government
, this office like its British
equivalent, the First Lord of the Treasury
was frequently the formal position held by the Colonial Premier
because the office of Premier was not mentioned in any legislation. The Cape Colony
was unusual in giving the Colonial Secretary at the Cape responsibility for defence. Several of the Australian states and territories retained the title for many decades, the Chief Secretary's Departments ultimately evolving into the modern Premier's Departments in those states. New Zealand abolished the office in 1907.
, Pakistan
, Sri Lanka
and some other independent states which were British Colonies still have Chief Secretaries in the provinces, who are next in line after the Governor
s or Chief Minister
s and hold superior powers in the bureaucracy.
meaning that only an IAS officer may hold this position. The Chief Secretary holds the same rank as a Secretary to the Government of India and the post falls within the "above supertimescale-fixed". Other positions in this payscale are Additional or Special Chief Secretary and Special Secretary to the Government of India. By tradition the seniormost IAS officer of the state cadre is chosen as the Chief Secretary but in many cases this is not so. The Chief Secretary heads the Department of General Administration as well.
and the Northern Areas
(Gilgit Agency
). In Pakistan and India, Chief Secretaries are bureaucrats of Grade-21.
and is equivalent to a Permanent Secretary
of the central government.
, Kenya
and Tanganyika
. Smaller territories used the term Colonial Secretary instead. The title of Colonial Secretary in Hong Kong
was changed to Chief Secretary
in 1976 and is still used (now referred to as Chief Secretary for Administration
).
The Isle of Man
also has a Chief Secretary, currently Will Greenhow, who is head of the island's civil service
.
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, and, historically, in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
after the Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
.
Origins
Originally the secretary to the Governor as well as secretary of the Colony this office was at first known as the Colonial Secretary or Principal Secretary outside British North AmericaBritish North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
where the equivalent title was Provincial Secretary
Provincial Secretary
The Provincial Secretary was a senior position in the executive councils of British North America's colonial governments, and was retained by the Canadian provincial governments for at least a century after Canadian Confederation was proclaimed in 1867...
. In 1821, Governor of New South Wales Philip Gidley King
Philip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
wrote that the Colonial Secretary:
"Has the custody of all official papers and records belonging to the colony; transcribes the public despatches; charged with making out all grants, leases and other public Colonial instruments; also the care of numerous indents or lists sent with convicts of their terms of conviction, and every other official transaction relating to the Colony and Government; and is a situation of much responsibility and confidence."
In Ireland, the role of Chief Secretary
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
dated from 1660.
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century
In New South Wales the function of Colonial Secretary and secretary to the Governor were separated in 1824.After the grant of responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
, this office like its British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
equivalent, the First Lord of the Treasury
First Lord of the Treasury
The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister...
was frequently the formal position held by the Colonial Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
because the office of Premier was not mentioned in any legislation. The Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
was unusual in giving the Colonial Secretary at the Cape responsibility for defence. Several of the Australian states and territories retained the title for many decades, the Chief Secretary's Departments ultimately evolving into the modern Premier's Departments in those states. New Zealand abolished the office in 1907.
In countries
IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and some other independent states which were British Colonies still have Chief Secretaries in the provinces, who are next in line after the Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s or Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
s and hold superior powers in the bureaucracy.
India
In India each state and some Union Territories have Chief Secretaries. As such the Chief Secretary serves as Chief of all government staff in the state and is the Secretary of the State Cabinet of Ministers. The post of Chief Secretary is encadred within the Indian Administrative ServiceIndian Administrative Service
The Indian Administrative Service is the administrative civil service of the Government of India. It is one of the three All India Services....
meaning that only an IAS officer may hold this position. The Chief Secretary holds the same rank as a Secretary to the Government of India and the post falls within the "above supertimescale-fixed". Other positions in this payscale are Additional or Special Chief Secretary and Special Secretary to the Government of India. By tradition the seniormost IAS officer of the state cadre is chosen as the Chief Secretary but in many cases this is not so. The Chief Secretary heads the Department of General Administration as well.
Pakistan
In Pakistan there are six Chief Secretaries, one for each of the four provinces and one each for Azad KashmirAzad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
and the Northern Areas
Northern Areas
Gilgit-Baltistan , is the northernmost political entity within Pakistan. It borders Pakistan's Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province to the west, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to the north, China to the east and northeast, Azad Kashmir to the southwest, and Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to the...
(Gilgit Agency
Gilgit Agency
The Gilgit Agency was a political unit of British India, which administered the northern half of the Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Gilgit Agency was created in 1877 and was overseen by a political agent of the Governor-General of British India. The seat of the agent was Srinagar...
). In Pakistan and India, Chief Secretaries are bureaucrats of Grade-21.
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka has nine Chief Secretaries, one for each of the nine provinces. A Chief Secretary is a Special Grade officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative ServiceSri Lanka Administrative Service
The Sri Lanka Administrative Service is the key administrative service of the Government of Sri Lanka, with civil servants working for both in the Central Government as well as in the provincial councils. It was formed as the Ceylon Administrative Service in 1963 as the successor to the Ceylon...
and is equivalent to a Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
of the central government.
Other parts of the world
Territories with Chief Secretaries included NigeriaNigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
. Smaller territories used the term Colonial Secretary instead. The title of Colonial Secretary in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
was changed to Chief Secretary
Chief Secretary for Administration
The Chief Secretary for Administration , commonly known as Chief Secretary and abbreviated as CS, is the second highest position of the Hong Kong Government...
in 1976 and is still used (now referred to as Chief Secretary for Administration
Chief Secretary for Administration
The Chief Secretary for Administration , commonly known as Chief Secretary and abbreviated as CS, is the second highest position of the Hong Kong Government...
).
The Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
also has a Chief Secretary, currently Will Greenhow, who is head of the island's civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
.
See also
- Provincial SecretaryProvincial SecretaryThe Provincial Secretary was a senior position in the executive councils of British North America's colonial governments, and was retained by the Canadian provincial governments for at least a century after Canadian Confederation was proclaimed in 1867...
- Secretary of State for the ColoniesSecretary of State for the ColoniesThe Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
- Chief Secretary’s BuildingChief Secretary’s BuildingThe Chief Secretary’s Building is an historic Sydney landmark located at 121 Macquarie Street, 65 Bridge Street and 44-50 Phillip Street....
in Sydney - The Salvation ArmyThe Salvation ArmyThe Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
- Chief Secretary of Hong Kong
- Secretary of State for CanadaSecretary of State for CanadaThe position of Secretary of State for Canada was a Canadian Cabinet position with a corresponding department. It was established in 1867 as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London...
- Chief Secretary to the GovernmentChief Secretary to the GovernmentThe Chief Secretary to the Government is the most senior officer in the Malaysian Civil Service. He is secretary to the Cabinet of Malaysia and is the secretary-general of the Prime Minister's Department.-History:...