Gus O’Donnell and John Gieve to become Visiting Professors

Former chief civil servant Lord (Gus) O'Donnell and Sir John Gieve are to become visiting professors in the Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy. Lord O'Donnell was Head of the Civil Service and Cabinet Secretary until the end of last year, he was created a life peer in January. Sir John was a senior official in the Treasury, Permanent Secretary in the Home Office and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. As visiting professors, they will give talks and seminars, help guide research projects and become actively involved in the life of the School in various other ways. Lord O'Donnell said he was determined to use the role to enthuse students about various aspects of political economy. He said that topics he would touch on included constitutional issues such as the lasting impact of a coalition government, the role of bureaucracies, public service reform and unresolved issues that arose from the publication of the first Cabinet Manual. "I am also interested in wellbeing and mental health, behaviour change and some macroeconomic issues such as the euro crisis," he said.