Depending upon the seniority of their political principal, Private Secretaries may be regarded an important officials in their own right; the Private Secretary to the Sovereign and the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister being the most important. The former is viewed as being equivalent to a permanent secretary, the head of a government department, and the latter is currently equivalent to a Director General in the Civil Service. Other notable positions include the Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.