Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil service chief executives of government departments or ministries, who generally hold their position for a number of years (thus "permanent") at a ministry as distinct from the changing political secretaries of state to whom they report and provide advice.
It is not to be confused with the "parliamentary state secretary", who serves as deputy to a minister, often with a more specialised field of responsibilities.
These officers directly report to Ministers of the Union within their respective ministry, and oversee all day-to-day operations of their departments.
In Indonesia, the equivalent position is called secretary-general (Indonesian: Sekretaris Jenderal, abbreviated Sekjen), one of the highest-ranking permanent civil servants in a ministry, leads the General Secretariat (Indonesian: Sekretariat Jenderal, abbreviated Setjen).
In the Civil service of the Republic of Ireland, the position of secretary general of a Department of State is almost identical to that of a permanent secretary in the British Civil Service, except that the position is not permanent, having a term of seven years.
In Italy, the highest civil service official in a ministry or department is either a segretario generale (secretary-general) or a direttore generale (director-general), while the position of sottosegretario di stato (under-secretary of state) is a political one and ranks below the ministro segretario di stato (minister-secretary of state, the head of a ministry or department) or the vice ministro (deputy-minister), both political posts as well.
In Malaysia, a permanent secretary refers to the administrative head of a ministry in the states of Sabah and Sarawak.
Organisations with enforcement powers, such as the Inland Revenue Department and the New Zealand Police, are headed by commissioners.
Anandatissa de Alwis was the first person from the private sector to be appointed as permanent secretary.
In the recent past it has been common for ministry secretaries to be appointed from outside the public service, with some on political grounds at the discretion of the president on the advice of the minister in charge.
[5] Major General Sanjeewa Munasinghe became the first serving military officer from the regular force to be appointed a ministry secretary in 2020.