Biography and speech of Nigel Hamilton

Nigel Hamilton is Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Secretary to the Northern Ireland Executive and Head of the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister. He is the most senior advisor to the First and Deputy First Ministers and leads a team of 29,000 civil servants. He has primary leadership responsibility for creating, developing and sustaining the NICS as an organisation that serves the devolved administration, the institutions of government and the people of Northern Ireland. He joined the Civil Service from Queen’s University in 1970. He worked formerly on roads, transport, water, housing and local authority policies in the Department of Environment. He was transferred to the Central Secretariat where he became the first Director of Making Belfast Work and also contributed to developing community relations policies. Prior to his current post he served as Permanent Secretary in both the Departments of Education and Regional Development.