John David Rimington
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John David Rimington, CB (born 1935) is a retired British civil servant. Born in 1935, Rimington attended
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...
, before completing on
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 ...
in the Army. He entered HM Civil Service in 1959 as an official in the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
."John Rimington"
''History of Occupational Safety and Health'' (
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is a British Charitable organization, charity that aims to save lives and prevent life-changing injuries which occur as a result of accidents. In the past, it has successfully campaigne ...
). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
From 1965 to 1969, he was a first secretary for economic matters in the British Embassy in
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
. After a year at the Department of Trade and Industry, he entered the
Department of Employment The secretary of state for employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In , it was merged with secretary of state for education to make the secretary of state for education and employment. In , the employment functions were h ...
in 1970. After another period abroad from 1974 (as a counsellor in the UK's permanent representation to the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
), he was transferred to the
Manpower Services Commission The Manpower Services Commission (MSC) was a non-departmental public body of the Department of Employment in the United Kingdom created by Edward Heath's Conservative Government on 1 January 1974 under the terms of the Employment and Training ...
in 1977."Rimington, John David"
''
Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...
'' (online ed.,
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2021). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
In 1981, Rimington became director of the safety policy division of the
Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational risks in Great B ...
(HSE), and he was appointed Director-General of the HSE in 1984, serving until he retired in 1995. He was also a deputy secretary in the Department of Employment from 1984 and between 1992 and 1995 was Second
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 ...
in the department. For his service, Rimington was 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 ...
(CB) in 1987. In retirement, he has held a visiting professorship at the
University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...
and delivered the
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is a British Charitable organization, charity that aims to save lives and prevent life-changing injuries which occur as a result of accidents. In the past, it has successfully campaigne ...
' Allan St John Holt Lecture in 2008.


Personal life

In 1963 he married Stella Whitehouse, whom he knew from school. In 1984 they separated, with Stella retaining custody of their two daughters. They did not divorce because it "seemed a faff", and in later life reconciled, living together during the covid lockdown of 2021. Stella Rimington commented "It's a good recipe for marriage, I'd say: split up, live separately, and return to it later".


References

Living people 1935 births Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British civil servants Health and safety in the United Kingdom Companions of the Order of the Bath {{UK-gov-bio-stub