Richard Thomas James Wilson, Baron Wilson of Dinton, (born 11 October 1942) is a member of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

and former

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

Career

Richard Wilson was born in

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

. He was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent boarding school) for boys near the village of Radley, in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingd ...

(1956–60 and where he much later chaired the College Council (the governing body) and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

(1961–65), where he was awarded the degree of

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

(LLM). He was called to the Bar but, rather than practise, entered the Civil Service as an assistant principal in the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

in 1966. He subsequently served in a number of departments including 12 years in the Department of Energy where his responsibilities included nuclear power policy, the privatisation of Britoil, personnel and finance. He headed the Economic Secretariat in the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

under

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

from 1987 to 1990 and after two years in the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

was appointed Permanent Secretary of the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

in 1992. He became

Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office The Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office is the Permanent secretary (UK), permanent secretary at the Home Office, the most senior civil servant in the department, charged with running its affairs on a day-to-day basis. Home Offi ...

in 1994 and Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Home Civil Service in January 1998, retiring in 2002. Wilson was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in the 1991 New Year Honours, promoted to

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

(KCB) in the 1997 New Year Honours and to

Knight Grand Cross A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

(GCB) in the 2001 New Year Honours. After retiring as

, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 18 November 2002 with the title Baron Wilson of Dinton, ''of Dinton in the County of Buckinghamshire''. In September of that year, he was made

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

. He has variously been a Non-executive Director of British Sky Broadcasting Group plc, Chairman of C. Hoare & Co, a Non-executive Director of Xansa and Chair of the Board of Patrons of The Wilberforce Society.

References

External links

Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 20 November 2009 (video)Emmanuel College website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson of Dinton, Richard Wilson, Baron 1942 births Living people Wilson of Dinton Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Welsh civil servants People educated at Radley College Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Masters of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Civil servants in the Board of Trade Civil servants in the Department of Energy (United Kingdom) Civil servants in the Cabinet Office Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Environment Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Home Department Cabinet Secretaries (United Kingdom) Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics Life peers created by Elizabeth II