Sir David Lionel Natzler (born 16 August 1952) is a former

Clerk of the House of Commons The clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 in the House of Commons of England. The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of Co ...

, the principal constitutional adviser to the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

, and adviser on all its procedure and business. He was the 50th person to hold the role. Appointed by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

in March 2015, he was designated acting Clerk upon the retirement of Sir Robert Rogers in August 2014. He announced his retirement in a letter to the Speaker on 14 November 2018.

Personal life

Natzler is the son of Pierre Natzler (1917–2020), an Austrian who served as an agent in the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE) during World War II. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he was a

Kennedy Scholar Kennedy Scholarships provide full funding for up to ten British post-graduate students to study at either Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Susan Hockfield, the sixteenth president of MIT, described the scho ...

. Natzler is married with two sons and one daughter.

Clerk of the House of Commons

Natzler had previously served as Clerk Assistant to Sir Robert Rogers. On notice of Rogers' proposed retirement, Commons Speaker

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...

secured the agreement of the

House of Commons Commission The House of Commons Commission is the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons administration in the United Kingdom. The commission is a corporate body established by the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 (c. 36). The commission ...

to a change in the person specification for the role of Clerk of the House of Commons and Chief Executive of the House of Commons Service. Following a controversial recruitment process, Bercow proposed the selection of Carol Mills, then secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services in the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

, for the job of Clerk of the House and Chief Executive, sending the formal nomination to the Prime Minister with the request that it be passed to the Sovereign, who makes the appointment by

. The appointment process was questioned by many MPs and the nomination itself was opposed by several. As a result, on the retirement of Rogers, Natzler was appointed as acting Clerk. The House of Commons established a committee on the governance of the House, chaired by former Cabinet Minister

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...

. The committee reported in December 2014. ''Inter alia'' the committee recommended that "The Clerk of the House should remain Head of the House service, appointed by Letters Patent, but should not also be titled Chief Executive" and that "a new post of Director General of the House of Commons should be created, reporting to the Clerk but with clearly delineated autonomous responsibilities for the delivery of services." The recommendations of the report were debated and agreed to by the House on 22 January 2015. Mills subsequently withdrew from the process, the specification of the job she had applied for having changed substantially. In March 2015 Natzler was confirmed as the new Clerk.David Natzler appointed new Commons clerk.

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 23 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015. In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons on 14 November 2018 Natzler announced his intention to retire on 1 March 2019. On 5 February 2019, Clerk Assistant John Benger was announced as Natzler's successor.

Honours

In the

2018 Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by ci ...

, Natzler 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) for parliamentary service.

References

External links

Clerk of the House of Commons.
www.parliament.uk
David Natzler talking about the making of legislation.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natzler, David Living people 1952 births Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Clerks of the House of Commons English people of Austrian descent Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Eton College People from Hammersmith Wilberforce family