Dame Madeleine Kay Alessandri (born 1965) is a British civil servant who has had a career in the security and diplomatic services. , she is the Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee. Alessandri studied Economics with International Relations at the University of St. Andrews, and then joined government service in 1988. After a number of roles in overseas national security and diplomatic service, including serving as Political Counsellor at the British Embassy in Japan from 2004 to 2007, following Colin Roberts, Alessandri ultimately became a director in the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

. Alessandri was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(CMG) in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2017 for her "services to British foreign policy", whilst serving as a director at the

. From July 2018 until early 2020, Alessandri transferred to 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 ...

, where she served as one of the UK's Deputy National Security Advisers alongside David Quarrey, supporting the prime minister on national resilience and security. She also serves as National Honorary Chair of the Civil Service Retirement Fellowship since January 2020. Between January 2020 and June 2023, Alessandri served as

Permanent Secretary A permanent 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 activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

of the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...

. In May 2023, it was announced she was appointed as Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, succeeding Sir Simon Gass. As of June 2025 she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath in the King's Birthday Honours 2025.

Offices held

References

External links

Alessandri's page on gov.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alessandri, Madeleine Living people 1965 births British civil servants Alumni of the University of St Andrews Members of HM Diplomatic Service Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland Dames Commander of the Order of the Bath