Martin Donnelly is Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform .-Ministers:The BIS...

 in the United Kingdom, replacing Simon Fraser

Simon Fraser (civil servant)

Simon James Fraser CMG is a British civil servant, who currently serves as the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, having served as Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills from May 2009 to August 2010.Fraser was educated at St. Paul's...

.

He joined HM Treasury

HM Treasury

HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...

 in 1980. In 1988 he was Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...

, and from 1989 in Brussels working for Leon Brittan before returning to London in 1993. In 1995 he went on secondment to the French Finance Ministry, returning to the Treasury in 1996. From 1998 to 2003 he worked in the Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....

 European Secretariat, and then moved to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the Home Office

Home Office

The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...

 before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...

. In 2008-09 he went on secondment to UK telecoms regulator Ofcom

Ofcom

Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...

. In 2010 he was briefly acting head of the FCO before being appointed permanent secretary at BIS.

He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University, international economics at the College of Europe

College of Europe

The College of Europe is an independent university institute of postgraduate European studies with the main campus in Bruges, Belgium...

 in Bruges, and at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration

École nationale d'administration

The École Nationale d'Administration , one of the most prestigious of French graduate schools , was created in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to democratise access to the senior civil service. It is now entrusted with the selection and initial training of senior French officials...

in Paris.