David Peter Williams (born December 1968) is a British civil servant who has served as the permanent under-secretary of state for defence since April 2021, succeeding

Stephen Lovegrove Sir Stephen Augustus Lovegrove (born 30 November 1966) is a British civil servant who was appointed as UK National Security Adviser with effect from the end of March 2021, having previously served as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ...

. He served as the second permanent secretary at the

Department of Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...

since the beginning of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

outbreak in the United Kingdom in March 2021. Prior to his current role, Williams served in various other administrative positions in both the

and

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

since 2015. He is a policy leaders

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Centre for Science and Policy The Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) at the University of Cambridge exists to improve links between academics and policy makers. Its main focus is on improving policy makers' access to the best scientific and engineering research, both to allow ...

. He was made Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, David 1968 births Living people Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Defence English civil servants Companions of the Order of the Bath