Sir David Robert Sterling (born 7 March 1958) is a Northern Irish civil servant. Since 2017, he was the Interim Head of the

Northern Ireland Civil Service The Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS; ; Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Cïvil Sarvice'') is the permanent bureaucracy of employees that supports the Northern Ireland Executive, the devolved government of Northern Ireland. The NICS is one ...

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 Executive Office, and Secretary to

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...

: as such, he was the most senior civil servant in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. He was appointed

Knight Commander 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 ...

(KCB) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

. He stepped down as Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service on 31 August 2020, after 42 years as a civil servant. He is a keen golfer who plays at Malone Golf Club, Belfast. In 2024, he was made a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling, David 1958 births Living people Civil servants from Northern Ireland Heads of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Members of the Royal Irish Academy