Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service

Policy Leaders Fellow Alumna, Centre for Science and Policy

Dame Antonia Romeo was appointed as the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service on 19 February 2026.

Antonia Romeo served as the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office from April 2025 to February 2026, with responsibility for national security, border security and public safety.

Before this Antonia was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice for 4 years, with responsibility for criminal justice, prison and probation services, courts, legal services, and constitutional policy. Before that she was Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Trade with responsibility for trade policy, trade negotiations and market access, trade promotion and finance, inward and outward business investment, and the GREAT campaign.

Antonia joined the Civil Service in 2000 as a professional economist following an early career in the private sector at strategic consultancy firm Oliver Wyman.

She has held several senior roles in Her Majesty’s Government, including:

• Her Majesty’s Consul General in New York and Director General Economic and Commercial Affairs USA, and Special Envoy to the US technology companies, based in New York
• Director-General and Head of the Economic and Domestic Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, responsible for coordinating policy advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, and delivery of the PM’s top priorities
• Director-General, Criminal Justice at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), responsible for all criminal justice policy and major programmes
• Director-General, Transformation at MoJ, responsible for reform and savings programmes, strategy, Digital Services, communications, Group HR and Group estates
• Executive Director, Enterprise and Reform at Cabinet Office, responsible for reforming the Government’s governance and Board model, working with businesses

Antonia sits on the Civil Service Board and Senior Leadership Committee, is the Civil Service Gender Champion, and is President of the Whitehall Choir.

Antonia holds an MA (PPE) from Oxford University, an MSc (Economics) from the London School of Economics, and an Advanced Management Programme diploma from Columbia Business School.