Dame Bernadette Mary Kelly, (born 10 March 1964) is a British senior civil servant who has 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 ...

for the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

since 18 April 2017.

Early life

Kelly was born on 10 March 1964 to Edward and Teresa Kelly. Her father was a bus driver. She was educated at

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, also known as Camp Hill Girls, is a selective grammar school in Kings Heath, Birmingham, for students aged 11 to 18 (Year 7 to Year 13). It is one of the most academically successful schools in the Un ...

in Birmingham, followed by the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

. She gained an MBA at Imperial College, London.

Career

Kelly joined the Civil Service after graduating, and worked in the

Department for Communities and Local Government The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 200 ...

, the Treasury,

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 ...

and the

Number 10 Policy Unit The Number 10 Policy Unit is a body of policymakers based in 10 Downing Street, providing policy advice directly to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone ...

. She was a director general at the

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Uni ...

from 2010 until 2015, when she became director general for the Rail Group in the Department for Transport, a post she held until she was appointed permanent secretary for that department on 18 April 2017. Her promotion followed Philip Rutnam's move to the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

. Kelly was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in 2010 and Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

for services to government. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Hull in 2023. On 19 March 2025, she announced she would be retiring in the summer after 39 years in the civil service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Bernadette Living people 1964 births Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Transport Civil servants in HM Treasury Civil servants in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Dames Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls