The Permanent Secretary of State to the Prime Minister's Office () is the most senior

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in Denmark and the departmental head of the Prime Minister's Office. The person is the senior policy adviser to the

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

, and as the pre-eminent civil servant in the Danish

central administration Central administration is the leading or presiding body over an organization and the highest administrative department which oversees all lower departments. Education In most cases, a school or school district will have a leading group of people ...

, the postholder serves as the symbolic head of the entire

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

(). Since 1913, the permanent secretary has served concurrently as the

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 ...

of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, the privy council of Denmark. The role is currently occupied by

Barbara Bertelsen Barbara Beatrice Bober Bertelsen (known by her Acronym, initials BBB; born 24 September 1973) is a Danish jurist and senior Civil service, civil servant. She is the current Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office (Denmark), Permanent Se ...

. The position is the

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

of the Prime Minister's Office and as the secretary to the Cabinet is responsible to all ministers for the efficient running of government. In addition to the formal duties associated with the

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 ...

, the occupant also handles important

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

issues during a change of government, assisting the outgoing prime minister in transitioning to a new government during upcoming elections, as well as aiding the

informateur A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...

() appointed by the Sovereign to investigate the possibilities of the

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

of a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

. During this transfer and reorganization of

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

power, the permanent secretary oversees the continuation of government responsibilities. The permanent secretary is formally appointed by the

monarch of Denmark A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority a ...

, following a nomination and recommendation by the government.

History

Origin

Further information: Prime Minister of Denmark § History The role of the permanent secretary to the Prime Minister's Office evolved from Denmark's early governmental structures established in the mid-19th century. Through the Constitution of 1848, the council president () was introduced, supported by a senior

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

who assisted in administrative tasks (see list of officeholders below). Over time, the duties of the Council Presidium, the then

cabinet ministry A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...

of Denmark, grew to include oversight of constitutional matters, ministerial coordination, and issues related to the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, and governance. By the early 20th century, these responsibilities had become more complex, leading to significant administrative reforms. In 1914, the Council Presidium was formally restructured as a cabinet ministry, and the position of permanent secretary was established shortly beforehand on 19 December 1913 by

Carl Theodor Zahle Carl Theodor Zahle (19 January 1866 in Roskilde – 3 February 1946 in Copenhagen), was a Danish lawyer and politician who served as the prime minister of Denmark from 1909 to 1910 and again from 1913 to 1920. In 1895, he was elected as a member ...

, then Prime Minister of Denmark. Initially entitled the Permanent Secretary to the Council Presidium (), the office was created through a

bill of parliament A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to substantially alter an existing law. A bill does not become law until it has been passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Bills are introduced in the leg ...

. The Act (law no. 291), the very final law passed in 1913, was expedited through

Rigsdagen The Rigsdag ( ) was the name of the national legislature of Denmark from 1849 to 1953. The Rigsdag was Denmark's first parliament, and it was incorporated in the Constitution of 1849. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses, t ...

. Presented to the

Folketing The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...

on 16 December, it was debated and unanimously passed (74 votes) in all three

readings Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word re ...

on 17 December, then swiftly approved by the Landsting the same day (48 votes). Ratified on 19 December 1913, it took effect on 1 January 1914. The position of cabinet secretary () was transferred to the permanent secretary to be held

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

thereafter. Following the 1915 Constitution, the Council Presidium was renamed the Prime Minister's Office (), and the title of prime minister () was officially adopted. Historian

Erik Arup Erik Ipsen Arup (November 22, 1876 – September 23, 1951) was a Danish historian and educator. He was most known as the pioneer of radical-liberal history writing in Denmark. Biography Arup was born at Slangerup in Frederikssund Municipality, De ...

was appointed as the inaugural holder of the office, succeeding the retiring as

. He similarly assumed the responsibilities previously undertaken by head of office Peter Colbjørn Feddersen, who had been the formal

to the council president since 1883. The cabinet secretary is an office that can be traced back to a

rescript A rescript is a public government document. More formally, it is a document issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response to a question (usually legal) posed to the author. The word originates from replies issued by Roman emperors t ...

of 29 March 1848, which stipulated that the proceedings of the

were to be recorded by an authorised cabinet secretary.

Powers and responsibilities

The permanent secretary is the chief executive of the Prime Minister's Office, second only to the

themself, and is responsible for managing the ministry on a day-to-day basis. They are the prime minister's closest

advisor An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs catego ...

in all aspects of their duties, including

domestic policy Domestic policy, also known as internal policy, is a type of public policy overseeing administrative decisions that are directly related to all issues and activity within a state's borders. It differs from foreign policy, which refers to the ways ...

economic policy ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris Scho ...

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

and

security policy Security policy is a definition of what it means to ''be secure'' for a system, organization or other entity. For an organization, it addresses the constraints on behavior of its members as well as constraints imposed on adversaries by mechanisms ...

. The permanent secretary is ultimately the accountable official in the Prime Minister's Office (and the government as a whole) for upholding the formal duties of the

on governance, including principles of

legality Legality, in respect of an act, agreement, or contract is the state of being consistent with the law or of being lawful or unlawful in a given jurisdiction, and the construct of power. ''Merriam-Webster'' defines legality as "1: attachment to or ...

, truthfulness, and political neutrality. The position is one of the key members of the powerful Government Appointments Committee (), which was established in 1977 to assess applicants for all senior civil service positions in central government, such as permanent secretaries and directors of agencies. In several different governments, the permanent secretary has also served on other central government committees, such as the Government Finance Committee and Coordination Committee, as a representative of the

, but with equal status with other high-ranking ministers, such as the

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

and the

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

. The permanent secretary is the chairman of the Civil Servants' Committee on Security Matters (), which advises the Government's Security Committee on strategic and political security issues. The committee comprises top officials from key ministries, including

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

, and

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

, as well as the directors of the

Danish Defence Intelligence Service The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS; , FE) is a Danish intelligence agency, responsible for Denmark's foreign intelligence, as well as being the Danish military intelligence service. DDIS is an agency under the Ministry of Defence and ...

and

Danish Security and Intelligence Service The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (DSIS; (PET)) is the national security and intelligence agency of Denmark. The agency focuses solely on national security while foreign intelligence operations are handled by the Danish Defense Intel ...

. It is activated and convenes regularly during major crises, incidents and other security events, where it coordinates the reaction and assistance of public authorities.

List of permanent secretaries

Secretaries to the Council President (precursor position)

Individuals who, between 1848 and 1914, were the head of government's closest advisor and top civil servant. The holder was formally a

, usually seconded by a

government ministry Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level Executive (government), executive bodies in the Machinery of government, machinery of governments that manage a specific se ...

. Until 1859, the officeholders held royal appointment and the formal title of Secretary of State (or State Secretary; ).

Permanent Secretaries of State

Individuals who have officially held the position of

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 ...

since its creation in 1914. {, class="wikitable sortable" !# !Portrait !Name
! colspan="2" , Term of office , - , 1 , ,

, 1 January 1914 , 31 January 1916 , - , 2 , ,
, 1 February 1916 , 31 March 1919 , - , 3 , , Frederik V. Petersen
, 1 April 1919 , 31 May 1938 , - , 4 , ,
, 1 June 1938 , 31 March 1952 , - , 5 , , Jørgen Elkjær-Larsen
, 1 April 1952 , 31 December 1964 , - , 6 , ,
, 1 January 1965 , 31 December 1972 , - , 7 , ,
, 1 January 1973 , 30 April 1979 , - , 8 , , Peter Wiese
, 1 May 1979 , 1993 , - , 9 , ,
, 1993 , 1996 , - , 10 , ,
, 1996 , 2005 , - , 11 , ,
, 2005 , 2010 , - , 12 , ,

Christian Kettel Thomsen Christian Kettel Thomsen (born 23 August 1959) is the Royal Governor of the Bank of Denmark. He has also served as Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office (20102020) and Ministry of Finance (20052010), and as Vice-President of the Eur ...

, 2010 , 2020 , - , 13 , ,

{{small, (b. 1973) , 2020 ,

References

Citations

Government occupations Civil service of Denmark 1913 introductions 1913 establishments in Denmark