Sir Stephen Augustus Lovegrove GCMG KCB (born November 1966) is a British civil servant who was the UK National Security Adviser from March 2021 to September 2022. He led the Shareholder Executive from 2007 to 2013, and then had permanent secretary roles at the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Ministry of Defence.
Sir Stephen Lovegrove | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Lovegrove in 2018 | |
| United Kingdom National Security Adviser | |
| In office 24 March 2021 – 14 September 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | David Quarrey (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Sir Tim Barrow |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence | |
| In office April 2016 – March 2021 | |
| Sec. of State | Sir Michael Fallon Gavin Williamson Penny Mordaunt Ben Wallace |
| Preceded by | Jon Thompson |
| Succeeded by | David Williams |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change | |
| In office 4 February 2013 – March 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Sec. of State | Ed Davey Amber Rudd |
| Preceded by | Moira Wallace |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Stephen Augustus Lovegrove 30 November 1966 |
| Spouse | Kate Brooke |
| Residence(s) | London, England |
| Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Oxford |
Early life
editLovegrove was born in 1966, the second child of John and Zenia Stewart Lovegrove. His father was a Warwickshire industrialist and entrepreneur. Lovegrove was educated at Warwick School and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he was awarded a first class degree in English in 1989.
Career
editBetween 1990 and 1994 Lovegrove worked for Hydra Associates, a strategic media consultancy. In 1995, he joined Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (subsequently Deutsche Bank), where he remained until 2004 and became head of the European media team.
In April 2004, he joined the Shareholder Executive, becoming acting Chief Executive in June 2007 and Chief Executive in April 2008. In that capacity, he was also appointed to the Board of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and acted as chairman of (the no longer trading) British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.
He was appointed as Permanent Secretary of the Department of Energy and Climate Change with effect from 4 February 2013.[1] In March 2016, after three years in that post, the Government announced his appointment as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence.[2]
Since February 2016 he has also served as a non-executive director of Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, one of the principal operating companies of the Grosvenor Group.[3]
In January 2021 it was announced that Lovegrove would become National Security Adviser at the end of March 2021.[4] The announcement came as David Frost was pulled out from assuming the role, seven months after being appointed.[5] Lovegrove held the role until 14 September 2022.[6]
Lovegrove has been criticised by Conservatives including Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg for endorsing Black Lives Matter, which Lovegrove claims is not a political organisation.[7][8]
Honours and awards
editLovegrove was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2013 New Year Honours[9] and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2019 Birthday Honours.[10] He is an Honorary Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.[11] He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to national security.[12]
| Country | Date | Appointment | Ribbon | Post-nominal letters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 28 December 2012 | Companion of the Order of the Bath | 
|
CB | Promoted to KCB in 2019[9] |
| United Kingdom | 8 June 2019 | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath | KCB | [10] | |
| United Kingdom | 29 December 2023 | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George | 
|
GCMG | [12] |
Personal life
editIn 1997, Lovegrove married the screenwriter Kate Brooke. They have two daughters and live in London.
Sources
edit- Who's Who (2009 edition)
- Shareholder Executive website, archived in 2011
- L.O.C.O.G. website, archived in 2011
References
edit- ^ Department of Energy & Climate Change Press Notice Archived 2013-01-11 at the Wayback Machine, 7 January 2013
- ^ "New Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Defence". GOV.UK. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ^ Grosvenor Group web-site, Stephen Lovegrove - Non-Executive Director (accessed on 19 October 2018)
- ^ "International Affairs Appointments in No.10 and Cabinet Office". UK Government. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- ^ Morales, Alex (29 January 2021). "U.K. Names Lovegrove National Security Adviser Instead of Frost". Bloomberg. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Sir Tim Barrow appointed as National Security Adviser". GOV.UK. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ "Top MoD mandarin: supporting BLM is 'not political'". The Spectator. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ Stone, Jon (22 February 2022). "Jacob Rees-Mogg says senior civil servants should not endorse Black Lives Matter". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ a b "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 3.
- ^ a b "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B3.
- ^ Corpus Christi College website, Emeritus, Honorary, Claymond and Foundation Fellows, accessed on 25 May 2021
- ^ a b "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N3.