Susanna Justine McGibbon (born 11 November 1967) is a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and senior British civil servant who currently serves as HM Procurator General,

Treasury Solicitor The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor. This office go ...

and Head of the

Government Legal Service The Government Legal Profession (GLP), formerly the Government Legal Service,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

Government Legal Department The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor. This office go ...

. She previously served as Director General of the Government Legal Department and Director General of the

Department for Work and Pensions , type = Department , seal = , logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg , logo_width = 166px , formed = , preceding1 = , jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom , headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...

' Legal Group.

Early life and education

McGibbon was born on 11 November 1967 to Ian McGibbon and Gwen McGibbon. She was educated at Bolton County Grammar School and then later at

Canon Slade School ) , established = ''ante'' 1855 , closed = , type = Academy , trust = The Bishop Fraser Trust , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Mrs K ...

, both in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

. She studied law at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(LLB) in 1989. After university, she completed the

Bar Vocational Course The Bar Professional Training Course or BPTC is a postgraduate course which allows law graduates to be named and practise as barristers in England and Wales. The eight institutes that run the BPTC along with the four prestigious Inns of Court ...

(BVC) at the

Inns of Court School of Law The City Law School is one of the five schools of City, University of London. In 2001, the Inns of Court School of Law became part of City, and is now known as the City Law School. Until 1997, the ICSL had a monopoly on the provision of the Bar ...

Career

McGibbon worked as a private practice barrister after being called to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1990. Following a brief spell in private practice, McGibbon joined the

Government Legal Profession The Government Legal Profession (GLP), formerly the Government Legal Service,Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

before moving to the

Treasury Solicitor's Department The Government Legal Department (previously called the Treasury Solicitor's Department) is the largest in-house legal organisation in the United Kingdom's Government Legal Service. The department is headed by the Treasury Solicitor. This office go ...

(GLD) in 1998 (where she also worked in the

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 ...

for two years). This was followed by employment in the Department for Education and Skills in 2000 and the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

in 2002. McGibbon then served as Legal Director for the Department for Trade and Industry (later Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2007) and Business, Innovation and Skills (2009)) from 2006 to 2009. Afterwards, she served as Legal Director for the

Department for Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government ...

from 2009 to 2012. In 2012, McGibbon became Director of Litigation in the GLD, tasked with conducting domestic litigation on behalf of most UK government departments. In 2018, McGibbon was appointed as Director General (Directorate B). On 18 February 2021, it was announced that the Cabinet Secretary had, with the approval of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, appointed McGibbon to be the new Treasury Solicitor following the resignation of Sir Jonathan Jones. She took up the appointment on 8 March 2021.

Family and personal life

McGibbon married Patrick Spencer in 2004. She lists her recreations as travel (particularly Europe and Asia), music and "generally enjoying London life".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGibbon, Susanna Living people English barristers English civil servants Members of Lincoln's Inn Treasury Solicitors Alumni of the University of Sheffield Civil servants in the Department for Work and Pensions 1967 births