Tom Scholar

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix = Sir

| name = Tom Scholar

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|GCB|size=100%}}

| image = File:Tom Scholar (cropped).jpg

| office = Permanent Secretary to the Treasury

| chancellor = {{plainlist|

}}

| term_start = 13 July 2016

| term_end = 8 September 2022

| predecessor = Nick Macpherson

| successor = James Bowler

| office1 = Prime Minister's Adviser for Europe and Global Issues

| primeminister1 = David Cameron

| term_start1 = 2013

| term_end1 = 2016

| predecessor1 = Jon Cunliffe

| successor1 = Olly Robbins

| office2 = Second Permanent Secretary to the Treasury

| primeminister2 = {{plainlist|

Gordon Brown
David Cameron

}}

| term_start2 = 2009

| term_end2 = 2013

| predecessor2 = John Kingman

| successor2 = Sharon White

| office3 = Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister

| primeminister3 = Gordon Brown

| term_start3 = 27 June 2007

| term_end3 = 23 January 2008

| predecessor3 = Olly Robbins

| successor3 = Jeremy Heywood

| office4 = Downing Street Chief of Staff

| primeminister4 = Gordon Brown

| term_start4 = 27 June 2007

| term_end4 = 23 January 2008

| predecessor4 = Jonathan Powell

| successor4 = Stephen Carter

| birth_name = Thomas Whinfield Scholar

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|12|17|df=y}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| father = Michael Scholar

| education = Dulwich College

| alma_mater = {{plainlist|

}}

Sir Thomas Whinfield Scholar {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCB}} (born 17 December 1968) is a British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury from 2016 to 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-permanent-secretary-to-the-treasury-announced|title=New Permanent Secretary to the Treasury announced – News stories – GOV.UK|website=www.gov.uk|access-date=2016-03-13}} He was previously the prime minister's adviser on European and global issues in the Cabinet Office from 2013 to 2016.{{Cite book

| url = http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U4000118

| title = SCHOLAR, Thomas Whinfield

| last = A & C Black

| work = Who's Who 2016

| publisher = Oxford University Press

| year = 2016

| edition = online

| access-date = 2016-03-02

}} He has been a director of the nationalised bank Northern Rock, and served as chief of staff for Gordon Brown.

Personal life and education

Scholar was educated at Dulwich College (1979–1986), Trinity Hall, Cambridge (where he read History{{Cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmpubacc/519/8042811.htm|title=House of Commons – Public Accounts – Minutes of Evidence|last=Commons|first=The Committee Office, House of|website=www.publications.parliament.uk|access-date=27 August 2016}}), and the London School of Economics.

He is the son of Sir Michael Scholar, who was Permanent Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry between 1996 and 2001.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/08/tom-scholar-permanent-secretary-to-the-treasury-sacked-by-liz-truss |title=Tom Scholar, permanent secretary to the Treasury, sacked by Liz Truss |website=TheGuardian.com |date=8 September 2022}} He has two younger brothers, Richard and John (who is a lecturer in English literature at the University of Reading and worked at the Treasury).{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.reading.ac.uk/english-at-reading/2018/05/30/dr-john-scholar-our-new-colleague-introduces-himself/|title=Dr. John Scholar, our new colleague, introduces himself |first=English Literature at |last=Reading |date=30 May 2018 |website=English at Reading}}

Career

Scholar joined HM Treasury in 1992, rising to Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1997, serving Gordon Brown for four years until 2001. Following that posting, Scholar served as the British representative on the boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, attached to the British Embassy in Washington as Minister for Economic Affairs for six years.

In 2007, following Brown's taking over the leadership of the Labour Party and thus the office of Prime Minister, Scholar returned to the UK, taking over the two roles of Downing Street Chief of Staff from Jonathan Powell and Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from Oliver Robbins. After six months, Scholar left Number 10 to return to the Treasury as the Managing Director of its International and Finance Directorate in January 2008. The next year, Scholar was promoted to be the Second Permanent Secretary at the Treasury, taking over from John Kingman.{{Cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/tom-scholar |title=Tom Scholar – GOV.UK |website=www.gov.uk |access-date=2016-03-02}} In this role, Scholar was a director of the nationalised bank, Northern Rock.{{cite web |url=http://companyinfo.northernrock.co.uk/investorRelations/theBoard/biographies.asp |title=Investor Relations | Virgin Money UK |publisher=Companyinfo.northernrock.co.uk |access-date=2013-09-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003113203/http://companyinfo.northernrock.co.uk/investorRelations/theBoard/biographies.asp |archivedate=3 October 2011}}

Four years later, in 2013, Scholar returned to Downing Street, now under David Cameron, to run the European and Global Issues Secretariat in the Cabinet Office and was the Prime Minister's most senior adviser on international affairs.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/17/meet-the-sherpas-the-key-people-quietly-negotiating-uk-eu-reforms |title=Meet the sherpas: the key people quietly negotiating UK-EU reforms |last1=Traynor |first1=Ian |date=2016-02-16 |last2=Watt |first2=Nicholas |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |access-date=2016-03-02}} As of September 2015, Scholar was paid a salary of between £150,000 and £154,999, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.{{Cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/492289/150K_senior_salaries.csv/preview |title=Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015 – GOV.UK |date=2015-12-17 |website=www.gov.uk |access-date=2016-02-28}}

In March 2016, the government announced that Scholar would succeed Sir Nick Macpherson as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury in April 2016.{{Cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-second-permanent-secretary-hm-treasury-appointed |title=New Second Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury appointed – News stories – GOV.UK |website=www.gov.uk |access-date=2016-03-02}} Scholar was replaced at the Cabinet Office by Oliver Robbins, who took over the role as a "post-Brexit" unit in June 2016,{{Cite web |url=https://www.civilserviceworld.com/articles/news/oliver-robbins-announced-head-cabinet-office-brexit-unit |title=Oliver Robbins announced as head of Cabinet Office Brexit unit {{!}} Civil Service World |website=www.civilserviceworld.com |access-date=2016-10-09}} which the next month became the Department for Exiting the European Union when Theresa May created her first Cabinet.{{Cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-ministerial-appointment-july-2016-secretary-of-state-for-exiting-the-european-union |title=New ministerial appointment July 2016: Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union – Press releases – GOV.UK |website=www.gov.uk |access-date=2016-10-09}}

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2017 Birthday Honours{{London Gazette |issue=61962 |supp=y |page=B3 |date=17 June 2017}} and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 2023 New Year Honours.{{London Gazette |issue=63918 |supp=y |page=N3 |date=31 December 2022}}

Scholar was removed from his position as permanent secretary to the Treasury by Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng on 8 September 2022, a move criticised by former senior civil servants including Gus O'Donnell and Robin Butler.{{cite news |last=Walker |first=Peter |date=8 September 2022 |title=Tom Scholar, permanent secretary to the Treasury, sacked by Liz Truss |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/08/tom-scholar-permanent-secretary-to-the-treasury-sacked-by-liz-truss |access-date=11 September 2022}}{{cite news |last=Riley-Smith |first=Ben |date=8 September 2022 |newspaper=Daily Telegraph |title=Kwasi Kwarteng sacks most senior civil servant in the Treasury |access-date=11 September 2022 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/09/08/kwasi-kwarteng-sacks-senior-civil-servant-treasury/ |url-access=subscription}}{{Cite news |date=2022-09-11 |title=Tom Scholar: Former top civil servants hit out at Treasury boss sacking |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-62869880 |access-date=2022-12-26}} Following the sacking, Dave Penman, General Secretary of the FDA, accused Truss of conducting an "ideological purge" of top officials.

In December 2023 he was appointed as Non-Executive Chair of Nomura Europe Holdings plc (NEHS), Nomura International plc (NIP) and Nomura Bank International plc (NBI), subsidiaries of Nomura Holdings.{{Cite web |title=Nomura Announces the Appointment of Sir Tom Scholar as Non-Executive Chair of NEHS, NIP and NBI Boards {{!}} NOMURA |url=https://www.nomuraholdings.com/news/nr/europe/20231201/20231201.html |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=www.nomuraholdings.com |language=en}}