Jonathan Stephens

Who is Jonathan Stephens?

Sir Jonathan Andrew de Sievrac Stephens KCB is a British civil servant who served as the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Stephens, son of Prescot and Peggy Stephens, was educated at Sevenoaks School, and Christ Church, Oxford. He and his wife, Rev Penny Stephens, whom he married in 1983, have one son and one daughter.

Stephens joined the Civil Service in the Northern Ireland Office in 1983, being promoted through various grades before transferring to the Cabinet Office as Director of Modernising Public Service in 2000. In 2001 he was seconded to HM Treasury where he rose to be Managing Director of Public Services 2004-06, replacing Sir Nicholas Macpherson. In 2006, he was appointed Permanent Secretary of DCMS to replace Dame Sue Street on her retirement.

Stephens worked at the DCMS until 2013 and was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2013 Birthday Honours for public service, especially to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.