Sir Jon Deacon Shortridge KCB (born 10 April 1947) is a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. He served as the

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

of the

Welsh Office The Welsh Office ( cy, Swyddfa Gymreig) was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State f ...

in March 1999 and of 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 ...

on its creation in May 1999. He became Permanent Secretary 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 ...

on its establishment as a separate institution in May 2007, and left the post at the end of April 2008. In 2009, he was brought back as interim Permanent Secretary of the

Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was a UK government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the Department of Education and Skills and of the Department of Trade and Industry. Its h ...

Early life and education

Shortridge was born in

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

, Sussex, the son of Eric Creber Deacon Shortridge and Audrey Joan Hunt. He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and has a degree (MA) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from

St Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...

a college of

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and in Urban Design and Regional Planning (MSc) from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Biography

He joined the

in 1984. Between 1987 and 1988 he was

Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to two

Secretaries of State for Wales A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

Nicholas Edwards Roger Nicholas Edwards, Baron Crickhowell, PC (25 February 1934 – 17 March 2018) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as an MP from 1970 until 1987 and as Secretary of State for Wales during the first two terms of the Tha ...

and Peter Walker. From 1988 to 1992 he was Head of the Welsh Office’s Finance Division. He undertook the Senior Management Review of the

in 1995, and was appointed Director of Economic Affairs in 1997, with responsibility for establishing the

. He was appointed a Knight 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 ...

(KCB) in the

2002 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supp ...

. In December 2002, Sir Jon was summoned by the Audit Committee of the

in order to be questioned over delays and rising costs surrounding the construction of a new debating chamber, which was to become the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

. £250,000 of taxpayers' money was spent on a legal dispute with sacked architects, the Richard Rogers Partnership. He stated during the hearing that the design submitted by the Richard Rogers Partnership would not have been eligible for the original competition if the true costs had been known.

Personal life

Sir Jon married Diana Jean Gordon in 1972. They have a daughter, Clare (born 1975), and son, James (born 1978).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shortridge, Jon 1947 births Living people Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Wales Permanent Secretaries of the Welsh Assembly Government Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills Private secretaries in the British Civil Service Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Alumni of the University of Edinburgh