Lord Wilson of Dinton

After qualifying as a barrister, Richard Wilson joined the Civil Service as Assistant Principal in the Board of Trade in 1966. He subsequently served in a number of departments, including twelve years in the Department of Energy, where his responsibilities included nuclear power policy and the privatisation of Britoil. He was promoted to head the Domestic and Economic Secretariat of the Cabinet Office under Margaret Thatcher from 1987 to 1990. Then, after two years in the Treasury, he was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Department of the Environment in 1992. He became Permanent Under Secretary of the Home Office in 1994 and Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Home Civil Service in 1998. He retired from the Civil Service in 2002 and is Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He has a number of non-executive posts, including chairman of C Hoare & Co and a director of BSkyB.