Paul Silk is a Clerk in the British House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

. He was formerly Clerk to the National Assembly for Wales

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

 from March 2001 to January 2007, the most senior official of the Assembly, and acted as the principal adviser to the Presiding Officer

Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales

The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales is the Speaker of the National Assembly for Wales, elected by the Members of the National Assembly for Wales to chair their meetings ; to maintain order; and to protect the rights of Members.He or she also heads the Corporate Body of the...

, responsible for all the services that are delivered to Assembly Members through the Assembly Parliamentary Service.

Education

Silk was educated at Christ College, Brecon

Christ College, Brecon

Christ College, Brecon is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It caters for pupils from eleven to eighteen.Christ College was founded by Royal Charter in 1541 by King Henry VIII...

; Brasenose College, Oxford

Brasenose College, Oxford

Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...

, and the University of Princeton.

Professional career

House of Commons Clerk for almost 25 years, from 1975-7, 1979–2001 and 2007–2010, clerking at different times three departmental Select Committees, including the Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Committees. He is also a former Clerk of the Welsh Grand Committee. Clerk in charge of the Government of Wales Bill and contributed to drafting the first Standing Orders of the National Assembly. He has also worked as Presidential Adviser in the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, and has participated in a number of programmes for emerging democracies. He has written and lectured on Parliament and the Constitution.

Publications

Principal author of the first four editions of the standard work How Parliament Works.

Offices held