Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister is a senior official in the British Civil Service who acts as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is traditionally the head of the Prime Minister's Office. In the Civil Service, the role is currently graded as a Director-General. To date, no woman has ever occupied the office. In fiction, the character of Bernard Woolley in the television series "Yes, Prime Minister", occupied this post. The current Principal Private Secretary is Peter Hill, who was
Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland was essentially a transitional arrangement and in 1924 was replaced by the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1924. The result of these acts was the Civil Service Commissioners (later the "Office of the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commissioners"), a commission of three persons charged with determining the standards for entry to the "Civil Service of the Government of Saorstát Éireann". Entry to the civil service was generally by competitive examination, and a number of qualifications such as ability, age, character, health and knowledge could be predefined. Applicants also had to meet nationality requirements. The competitive examination system was created to