Stephen Lovegrove appointed as MoD permanent secretary

Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed Stephen Lovegrove as the new Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Lovegrove is the Permentant Secretary at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and will step into the shoes of Jon Thompson, who currently occupies the MoD position.

Commenting on his new appointment, Lovegrove said: “I am thrilled to be joining the MoD: keeping Britain safe and employing over 250,000 people all over the world in a hugely diverse variety of roles. I look forward to the getting to grips with its many different challenges, not least implementing last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review.

“It has been a great personal and professional privilege to lead the DECC over the last three years, and it is a wrench to be leaving such a tremendous department and such expert and dedicated colleagues and friends. During my time here we have made lasting changes to transition to a low carbon energy system, and played a hugely influential role in the achievement of a global deal to combat climate change, and I am very proud to have been a part of that. Nevertheless, I am delighted to be given the opportunity to tackle new challenges at the MoD with the excellent team there.”

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon also welcomed the appointment. He said: “I am delighted that Stephen Lovegrove is to be our new Permanent Secretary and bring his wealth of experience from the DECC, the Shareholder Executive and the private sector. I look forward to working with him to implement the SDSR, to make Defence more innovative, and to protect this country.”