Douglas Chalmers has been Master of Emanuel College Cambridge
since 2021, before which he served in the British Army, rising to
Lieutenant General and Deputy Chief of the Defence
Staff.
Chalmers was made an MBE in 2003 and OBE in 2008. He was also
made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2021 for
services to defence during the COVID-19 pandemic. He will be
taking over as Chair from Lord Evans, who completed his five-year
term as Chair of the CSPL in October.
The CSPL was created in 1994 to examine areas of concern about
the standards of conduct of public office holders, advise the
Prime Minister accordingly, and to promote the highest standards
of conduct across public life. It was established to report on
general issues rather than to undertake investigations into
individual cases and operates in a similar manner to select
committees.
In its report published today (Monday 4 December), PACAC also
references the delay by the Government in completing the
appointments process for the Chair of the CSPL. In the report,
the Committee expressed its ‘firm belief that the Government
should make a greater effort to complete the entire appointments
process within the five-year window afforded it by current
fixed-term appointments’, in light of the Government’s failure to
appoint a successor to Lord Evans prior to the expiry of his term
on 31st October.
Chair's comment
Chair of PACAC, , said:
“Following our pre-appointment hearing, the Committee is
satisfied that Douglas Chalmers has the necessary integrity,
judgement, and independence to be the next Chair of the Committee
on Standards in Public Life and therefore endorse his
appointment. We wish him well in his new role and look forward to
continued engagement with him during his term.”
