John David Rimington, CB (born 1935) is a retired British civil servant. Born in 1935, Rimington attended

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, before completing on

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the Army. He entered HM Civil Service in 1959 as an official in the Board of Trade."John Rimington"
''History of Occupational Safety and Health'' (

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is a British charity that aims to save lives and prevent life-changing injuries which occur as a result of accidents. In the past, it has successfully campaigned on issues of road safet ...

). Retrieved 3 February 2022. From 1965 to 1969, he was a first secretary for economic matters in the British Embassy in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. After a year at the Department of Trade and Industry, he entered 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 w ...

in 1970. After another period abroad from 1974 (as a counsellor in the UK's permanent representation to the European Economic Community), he was transferred to 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 ...

in 1977."Rimington, John David"
''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2021). Retrieved 3 February 2022. In 1981, Rimington became director of the safety policy division of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and he was appointed Director-General of the HSE in 1984, serving until he retired in 1995. He was also a deputy secretary in the Department of Employment from 1984 and between 1992 and 1995 was Second Permanent Secretary in the department. For his service, Rimington was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB) in 1987.
The London Gazette
', 30 December 1986 (supplement, issue 50764), p. 3. In retirement, he has held a visiting professorship at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

and delivered the

' Allan St John Holt Lecture in 2008.

References

Living people 1935 births Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British civil servants Health and safety in the United Kingdom Companions of the Order of the Bath {{UK-gov-bio-stub