Sir Anthony James Merifield, KCVO, CB (5 March 1934 – 24 October 2024) was a British civil servant.

Life and career

Born on 5 March 1934, Merifield attended

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

. After graduating and completing

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, he joined HM Overseas Civil Service in 1958 and served in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

until 1965, when he returned to the United Kingdom to work in the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a Ministry (government department), ministry of the Her Majesty's Government, British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed b ...

(DHSS). There, he was promoted to Assistant Secretary in 1971 and Under-Secretary seven years later; in 1982, he moved to 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 ...

and then in 1986 returned to the DHSS as a director in the NHS Management Board. He then worked as Head of the Senior and Public Appointments Group 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 ...

(CO) from 1991 to 1994, when he became Ceremonial Officer in the CO. On retirement in 2000, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in the New Year Honours. He had also been appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

. Merifield died on 24 October 2024, at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merifield, Anthony 1934 births 2024 deaths British civil servants Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Bath