Lindy Cameron has been appointed as the new Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, moving from her post as British High Commissioner to the Republic of India. The announcement was made with the approval of the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister.
Ed Miliband said he was delighted by the appointment and thanked Nick Dyer for doing a brilliant job as Interim PUS. He also said Lindy Cameron is the first female Permanent Under Secretary at the FCDO, placing a long-established senior post in new hands.
FCDO leadership change
The move brings together experience from diplomacy, development and national security at the top of the department. Lindy Cameron previously served as the CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre and held senior roles in the Northern Ireland Office and the Department for International Development, giving the FCDO a leader whose background spans several parts of government rather than one track alone.
Ed Miliband said, "I am delighted that Lindy Cameron has been appointed as Permanent Under Secretary of the FCDO." He added, "Lindy brings enormous experience across the fields of diplomacy, development and national security, and a reputation for dynamic leadership in postings across the world, most recently as High Commissioner in India."
Nick Dyer and the interim handover
Nick Dyer had been serving as Interim PUS before the appointment, so the change ends an acting arrangement at the department’s most senior civil service level. Lindy Cameron’s record as British High Commissioner to the Republic of India and her earlier cyber security role make her arrival notable because the post is now held by someone with both diplomatic and security experience.
Ed Miliband also said, "I am especially pleased to welcome Lindy as the first female Permanent Under Secretary at the FCDO." He added, "I’d also like to put on record my profound thanks to Nick Dyer for doing a brilliant job as Interim PUS."
Lindy Cameron at the FCDO
Lindy Cameron will now move into a role that sits at the centre of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s senior leadership. The announcement does not set out when she will start in post, so the immediate practical point for the department is the handover from interim leadership to a permanent appointment led by a former High Commissioner to the Republic of India.
