UK Names Antonia Romeo as First Woman to Head Civil Service

Keir Starmer’s government appointed Antonia Romeo as the first woman to head the UK civil service, filling a vacancy that suddenly and unexpectedly became available after a spate of departures from the prime minister’s top team.

Romeo, 51, will succeed Chris Wormald as Cabinet Secretary, a key role in helping the government deliver on its policy agenda. A veteran of the civil service who’s held the most senior post in three different government departments — most recently in the Home Office — she now becomes the first woman to assume the job in its 110-year history.