Simon Case


Simon Case, is a British civil servant serving as Downing Street Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Boris Johnson since May 2020. The role was previously vacant for eight years after Sir Jeremy Heywood left the role in 2012. From January 2016 to May 2017, he served as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Early life and education

Case was born on 27 December 1978 in Bristol, England. He studied history at the University of Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002. He then undertook postgraduate research in political history at Queen Mary University of London, and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2007. His doctoral supervisor was Professor Peter Hennessy, and his thesis was titled The Joint Intelligence Committee and the German Question, 1947–61.

Career

Case joined Her Majesty's Civil Service in 2006. He worked first within the Ministry of Defence as a policy adviser. He then worked in the Northern Ireland Office and the Cabinet Office. In 2012, he served as Head of the Olympic Secretariat, a temporary team within the Cabinet Office that was set up to oversee the delivery of the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
From 2012 and July 2014, Case worked at 10 Downing Street as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister and then as Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. He then returned to the Cabinet Office, where he was Executive Director of the Implementation Group. In March 2015, he joined Government Communications Headquarters as Director of Strategy.
On 8 January 2016, Case was announced as the next Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister in succession to Chris Martin who had died while in office. He took up the appointment on 11 January 2016 until he was succeeded by Peter Hill on 10 May 2017. On 23 June 2017, he was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in recognition of his service in that role.
In March 2017, Case was announced as the Director General for the UK-EU Partnership. He took up the post in May 2017. In this role he was "leading the UK Government's work on exiting and seeking a new partnership with the European Union within the UK Representation to the EU". In January 2018, he was appointed Director General Northern Ireland and Ireland: in this role, he acted as the lead civil servant for finding a solution to the Irish border issue post-Brexit.
In March 2018, it was announced that Case would be the next Private Secretary to the Duke of Cambridge: he took up the appointment in July 2018. Also in 2018, Dr Case was appointed a Visiting Professor at King’s College London, having previously been a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the university.

Personal life

In 2007, Case married Elizabeth Kistruck, Chief Finance Officer at Hotels.com at Expedia Inc. Together they have two daughters.