Christopher Jon Martin, (15 May 1973 – 25 November 2015) was a British civil servant. He was Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2012 to 2015.

Early life

Martin was born on 15 May 1973 in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, c ...

, Black Country, England. He was brought up in Hampshire, on the edge of the New Forest, and educated at Noadswood School,

Dibden Purlieu Dibden Purlieu () is a village situated on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The village merges with the nearby town of Hythe. It is in the civil parish of Hythe and Dibden. The approximate population is around 4000 people. The r ...

(his local comprehensive school) and at

Totton College Totton College is a further education college located in Totton, Hampshire, providing courses for mainly 16- to 19-year-olds as well as adult education courses. These include BTECs, NVQs, GCSEs and Access courses. Courses are also available t ...

, his local

sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...

. He studied physics at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

before switching to a degree in politics, and graduated in 1996.

Career

After graduating from university, Martin took the Civil Service fast-stream entrance exam. He came top and chose to join

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ...

for what would be the last months of

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

's tenure. Under

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

, Martin took a number of roles, including being seconded to the Security Service ("MI5"). He eventually served as Brown's

Press Secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dut ...

, remaining in post serving

Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member ...

when he replaced him as the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He held board level jobs at the Treasury and a Cabinet Office agency. In January 2010, Martin moved to the Cabinet Office and was appointed deputy to the Cabinet Secretary (then Sir Gus O'Donnell). In December 2011, he was appointed the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister and Director General of the Prime Minister's Office. In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Martin was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) "for public service". In 2015, he was also appointed a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(CVO); he was presented with the insignia for his CVO during a special ceremony in hospital ( UCLH) on 21 November 2015, four days before his death. Grave of Chris Martin in Highgate Cemetery

Grave of Chris Martin in Highgate Cemetery

He was described by former Head of the Civil Service

Jeremy Heywood Jeremy John Heywood, Baron Heywood of Whitehall, (31 December 1961 – 4 November 2018) was a British civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary to David Cameron and Theresa May from 2012 to 2018 and Head of the Home Civil Service from 2014 ...

as "quite simply, one of the finest civil servants of his generation".

Death

Martin died from

sarcoma A sarcoma is a malignant tumor, a type of cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal ( connective tissue) origin. Connective tissue is a broad term that includes bone, cartilage, fat, vascular, or hematopoietic tissues, and sar ...

on 25 November 2015. Tributes were paid to him during

Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, currently held as a single session every W ...

, and the Officials' Box was left empty on the request of the Prime Minister. A memorial service was held at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...

on 18 October 2016. He is buried on the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

Personal life

In 2005, Martin married Christina Scott. They separated in 2011 and later divorced. Shortly before his death he married Zoe Conway, a BBC journalist. Martin was a fan of Arsenal F.C. and held a season ticket.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Chris 1973 births 2015 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Civil servants in HM Treasury Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Alumni of the University of Bristol