24 Facts About Jeremy Heywood

Jeremy Heywood served as the Principal Private Secretary to Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from 1999 to 2003 and 2008 to 2010.

Jeremy Heywood served as Downing Street Chief of Staff and the first Downing Street Permanent Secretary.

Jeremy Heywood's parents were Peter Heywood and Brenda Swinbank, who met as teachers at Ackworth School in West Yorkshire, one of a few Quaker educational establishments in England.

Jeremy Heywood was educated at the private Quaker Bootham School in York, where his father taught English.

Jeremy Heywood studied history and economics at Hertford College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983.

Jeremy Heywood later studied economics at London School of Economics and was awarded a Master of Science degree from University of London in 1986.

Jeremy Heywood attended the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School in 1994.

From 1983 to 1984, Jeremy Heywood worked as an economist at the Health and Safety Executive, before moving to the Treasury, and became the Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer then Norman Lamont at the age of 30, having to help mitigate the fallout from Black Wednesday after less than a month in the job.

Jeremy Heywood remained in this role throughout the 1990s under Chancellors Kenneth Clarke and Gordon Brown.

Jeremy Heywood was economic and domestic policy secretary to Tony Blair from 1997 to 1998, before being promoted to be the Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1999.

Jeremy Heywood stayed in this position until 2003, when he left the civil service in the wake of the Hutton Inquiry where it emerged that he said he had never minuted meetings in the Prime Ministerial offices about David Kelly, a job he was required to do.

Jeremy Heywood became a managing director of the UK Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley where he was embroiled in the aftermath of the collapse of Southern Cross Healthcare.

Jeremy Heywood later resumed the post of Principal Private Secretary, as well as being appointed the Downing Street Chief of Staff after the resignation of Stephen Carter.

In 2010, after David Cameron became Prime Minister, Jeremy Heywood was replaced as Chief of Staff by Edward Llewellyn and as Principal Private Secretary by James Bowler.

Jeremy Heywood returned to the civil service and was appointed the first Downing Street Permanent Secretary, a role created for the purpose of liaising between the Cabinet Secretary and the Chief of Staff within the Cabinet Office.

On 11 October 2011 it was announced that Jeremy Heywood would replace Sir Gus O'Donnell as the Cabinet Secretary, the highest-ranked official in Her Majesty's Civil Service, upon the latter's retirement in January 2012.

In July 2014 it was announced that Kerslake would step down and Jeremy Heywood would take the title of Head of the Home Civil Service in the coming Autumn.

Jeremy Heywood was criticised when he vetoed release to the Chilcot Inquiry of 150 letters and records of phone calls between Tony Blair and President George W Bush before the 2003 Iraq War.

Jeremy Heywood was found to be primarily responsible for businessman Lex Greensill being given a role in government and "extraordinarily privileged" access into 10 Downing Street.

Jeremy Heywood retired on health grounds on 24 October 2018, and died on 4 November at the age of 56.

Jeremy Heywood was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2002 New Year Honours, and a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 2003.

Jeremy Heywood was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2012 New Year Honours, and was thereby granted the title Sir.

Jeremy Heywood was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 31 October 2018.

Jeremy Heywood was created Baron Heywood of Whitehall, of Glossop in the County of Derbyshire, on 26 October 2018, shortly before his death and before he was able to take his seat in the House of Lords.