Sir Christopher Stephen Wormald (born 30 October 1968) is a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

serving as

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

and Head of the Civil Service since 2024.

Early life

The son of Peter Wormald and Elizabeth ''née'' North, he was educated at

Rutlish School Rutlish School is a state comprehensive school for boys, formerly a grammar school with the same name originally located on Rutlish Road, Merton Park, and relocated in 1957 on nearby Watery Lane, Merton Park, in southwest London. History The s ...

in Merton before going up to

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

, graduating BA (1990). He then pursued postgraduate studies at

Imperial College, London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, taking an MBA (1999). His father was a Deputy Secretary at the DHSS from 1978, then Registrar General for England and Wales 1990–96.

Career

Wormald joined the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in 1991, working in the Department for Education (later the Department for Education and Employment). Rising to Principal Private Secretary to the

Secretary of State for Education and Skills The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the Ca ...

from 2001 until 2004, he then worked on the Academies programme. In 2006 Wormald transferred to the newly formed

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 ...

(DCLG), promoted to be Director-General of Local Government and Regeneration. In 2009, he moved to 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 ...

as the Head of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat, succeeding Sir Paul Britton. Following the general election in 2010 and the consequent change in the position of

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

, Wormald additionally became Head of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office. In March 2012, Wormald left the Cabinet Office to return to the Department for Education as its Permanent Secretary, replacing

Sir David Bell David Bell may refer to: Academics * David A. Bell (born 1961), American historian of France * David Bell (university administrator) (born 1959), Scottish academic administrator and civil servant * David Bell (philosopher) (born 1947), British p ...

, who had retired to be the

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

. As of 2015, Wormald was paid a salary of between £160,000 and £164,999 by DCLG, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time. In January 2016 it was announced that Wormald would transfer to the Department of Health and Social Care later in 2016, replacing Dame Una O'Brien after her retirement as its Permanent Secretary. Wormald 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

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours were 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 were awarded a ...

. In December 2024, it was announced that Wormald would take over from

Simon Case Simon Case (born 27 December 1978) is a British civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service from September 2020 to December 2024. Case was Downing Street Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Boris Johnso ...

as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service. The three other final round candidates were Sir Olly Robbins, Dame Antonia Romeo and

Tamara Finkelstein Dame Tamara Margaret Finkelstein (born 24 May 1967) is a British civil servant who is currently the permanent secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Early life and education Tamara Margaret Finkelstein was born ...

. He was criticised for his role during the Covid pandemic with the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice stating, “Time and again, Christopher Wormald has refused in the UK Covid Inquiry to accept failures on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care, despite irrefutable evidence to the contrary, backed up by the experiences of everyone in the UK during the pandemic,”.Keir Starmer appoints Chris Wormald as new Cabinet Secretary
/ref>

References

External links

Interview in ''Civil Service World'' with Wormald in 2013
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wormald, Chris Living people 1968 births People educated at Rutlish School Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Alumni of Imperial College London British Permanent Secretaries 21st-century British civil servants Civil servants in the Department of Education (United Kingdom) Civil servants in the Department for Communities and Local Government Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for Health Civil servants in the Cabinet Office Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath