Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence

Policy Leaders Fellow Alumnus, Centre for Science and Policy

A career civil servant, David Williams CB was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence from April 2021 to November 2025. During that time he served four Prime Ministers and three Defence Secretaries, and covered the withdrawal from Afghanistan, war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East; three Spending Reviews, the Strategic Defence Review and major departmental Reform programmes.

Outside defence, David has a second career anchor in health, as 2nd PUS at the Department of Health during the covid-19 pandemic, as DG Finance and NHS Group Operations (2015-2020) and in leadership roles in the East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust. He also worked in Communities and Local Government, as the Director lead for the PREVENT programme and as a policy director on policing, fire and rescue and community safety for the Local Government Association.

In July 2026, he was appointed as a Trustee and Director of Invictus Games Birmingham 2027.

David was awarded a CB in the 2020 New Years’ honours list.