Dame Claire Elizabeth Clancy DCB DL (born 14 March 1958) was Chief Executive and Clerk to the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English language, English and () in Welsh language, Welsh, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes ...

, from February 2007 until April 2017.

Background

She attended

Dartford Grammar School for Girls Dartford Grammar School for Girls is a grammar school for girls in Dartford, Kent, England. Formerly known as Dartford County School, the school opened in 1904. It is the sister school of Dartford Grammar School for Boys. History Early his ...

, has a degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

and owns a farm near

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

Career

Clancy has spent many years working within

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

organisations. Before she joined the

Assembly Commission The Senedd Commission () is the corporate body for the Senedd of Wales. The Commission is responsible for ensuring the property, staff and services are provided for the Senedd. The Commission consists of the Presiding Officer and four Member ...

, she was Chief Executive of

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are i ...

and

Registrar of Companies A company register is a register of organizations in the jurisdiction they operate under. A statistical business register has a different purpose than a company register. While a commercial/trade register serves a purpose of protection, accounta ...

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. She joined

in April 2002 from the Patent Office, where she was responsible for Corporate Services. As

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, Clancy was responsible for the overall direction and leadership of the Agency. She was accountable to DTI and its Ministers for the performance and finances of Companies House. She also had the formal statutory role of

for

and

, and was the first woman to hold this position in over 150 years. In the late 1990s, she spent two years on the island of

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

and

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...

, where her husband,

Michael Clancy Michael John Clancy (31 March 1949 – 23 February 2010)Profile
ukwhoswho.com; accessed 1 M ...

, was Chief Secretary and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. She joined the civil service in 1977 and has worked in the

Manpower Services Commission The Manpower Services Commission (MSC) was a non-departmental public body of the Department of Employment Group in the United Kingdom created by Edward Heath's Conservative Government in 1973. The MSC had a remit to co-ordinate employment and tr ...

, the

Department of Employment The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001 the employment functions ...

, the

Government Office for the South West Government Offices for the English Regions (GOs) were established in 1994 by the John Major government. Until 2011, they were the primary means by which a wide range of policies and programmes of the Government of the United Kingdom were deliver ...

and was Chief Executive of

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

Training and Enterprise Council Training and enterprise councils (TECs) were local bodies established in England and Wales in the early 1990s to administer publicly funded training programmes, replacing the former Manpower Services Commission. The first group of 19 TECs were lau ...

. Clancy took up post as Chief Executive and Clerk of the National Assembly in February 2007. The post was created to reflect the growing powers of the Assembly following the

Government of Wales Act 2006 The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system o ...

. From May 2007, the Chief Executive and Clerk lead an organisation independent of the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

. She was responsible for ensuring that the Assembly is provided with the property, staff and services that it requires. Clancy retired from her position as Chief Executive and Clerk in April 2017. She was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

(DCB) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

. She was appointed as

High Sheriff of Gwent The office of High Sheriff of Gwent was established in 1974 under section 219 of the Local Government Act 1972, replacing the shrievalty of Monmouthshire. List of Sheriffs See also * High Sheriff of Monmouthshire This is a list of Sheriffs ...

for 2019–2020, and is a Deputy Lieutenant of the county.Deputy Lieutenants
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Offices held

References

1958 births Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the Open University People educated at Dartford Grammar School for Girls Dames Commander of the Order of the Bath Deputy Lieutenants of Gwent High Sheriffs of Gwent {{UK-gov-bio-stub