Introduction
Shona Hunter Dunn (born 15 October 1969) is a British civil servant, serving since October 2018 as the Second Permanent Secretary at the Home Office.
Dunn read for a BSc in biology at the University of Birmingham and then an MSc in ecology at Durham University, where her thesis was on "the affects (sic) of Habitat fragmentation on the woodland edge micro-climate and on the structure and composition of woodland ground flora", after which she joined the Department for Environment in 1995 as a policy advisor. She rose through the various re-organisations of the department (Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Department for Communities and Local Government) and a stint as policy head of Westminster City Council in 2005–6, serving as the director for Fire and Resilience for 2008–11 and then for planning for 2011–13.
In 2013, Dunn was promoted to serve as director-general for education standards in the Department for Education, replacing Stephen Meek. After three years, she was appointed as the next Head of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat, replacing Jonathan Slater in 2016. In Summer 2018, it was announced that Dunn would be promoted to replace Patsy Wilkinson as the Second Permanent Secretary for the Home Office.
On 29 February 2020, she was appointed acting permanent secretary at the Home Office, following the sudden resignation of Sir Philip Rutnam.
Offices held
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Stephen Meek |
Director-General, Education Standards, Department for Education 2013–2016 |
Succeeded by Paul Kett |
| Preceded by Jonathan Slater |
Director-General, Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat, Cabinet Office 2016–2018 |
Succeeded by Sarah Healey |
| Preceded by Patsy Wilkinson |
Second Permanent Secretary of the Home Office October 2018– |
Incumbent |