HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Andrew Turnbull Announced as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury [June 1998]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 3 June 1998.

Andrew Turnbull is to be the new Permanent Secretary to the Treasury. He will take over from Sir Terence Burns who will be retiring at the end of June.

It was also announced today that the Queen has been pleased to approve a life peerage upon Sir Terence Burns.

Andrew Turnbull who moves from his current post of Permanent Secretary of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, said:

“I am delighted to be able to return to the Treasury. It has of course moved on significantly since I left four years ago in its structure and its objectives. What is unchanged, however, is the importance of its role at the centre of government. I look forward to working with many old friends, and the new arrivals too, in carrying forward its huge agenda.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown said:

“I regard Terry Burns as one of our country’s outstanding post-war economists and public servants, who has made an enormous contribution to public policy and public administration in nearly twenty years at the heart of the Treasury.

“And while I fully understand that after carrying the responsibilities of Permanent Secretary for seven years he now wishes to seek a fresh challenge, I know that the Treasury – and Chancellors of both parties – have reason to be grateful for the expertise, wisdom and quiet resilience he has brought to the job of Permanent Secretary.

“In the last year, in particular, I am grateful to him for so expertly managing the transition to a new Government and, among his many other successes, in guiding us through the major reform of monetary policy that has brought the independence of the Bank of England.

“I am pleased to count Terry not only as an adviser, but as a friend, and I hope that as a member of the House of Lords he may be prepared to be called upon for his advice in future years.”

In announcing his retirement, Terry Burns said:

“After more than 18 highly enjoyable and fulfilling years in the Treasury, 7 as Permanent Secretary, and having managed the smooth transition to a new Government, I have decided that now is the right time to consider a fresh challenge and a different mix of responsibilities in the next period of my working life.

“It has been an enormous privilege to have worked at the heart of the Treasury with so many able and dedicated people and to have played a part in the successful transformation of the conduct of economic policy.

“Andrew Turnbull and I have worked closely as colleagues. I am delighted that he is to succeed me.”