page_title: Departmental secretary
hierarchical_section_title: Departmental secretary
caption_attribution_description: Australian Ambassador to the US Dennis Richardson, Prime Minister John Howard, and Peter Shergold, secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, meet US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (back to the camera) at the Pentagon.
context_page_description: In Australia, a departmental secretary is the most senior public servant of an Australian Government or state government department. They are typically responsible for the day-to-day actions of a department.
context_section_description: In Australia, a departmental secretary is the most senior public servant of an Australian Government or state government department. They are typically responsible for the day-to-day actions of a department.
caption: Peter Shergold (right) in his capacity as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; with then Prime Minister John Howard at a 2005 meeting in the United States.
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