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Matthew Rycroft
Sir Matthew John Rycroft KCMG CBE (/ˈraɪkrɒft/; born 16 June 1968) is a British civil servant and diplomat who served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from March 2020 to March 2025, appointed following the resignation of Sir Philip Rutnam. Rycroft previously served as Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development (DFID) from 2018 to 2020 and as the Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2015 to 2018.
The son of Professor Michael Rycroft, Rycroft was born in Southampton, before moving to Cambridge at the age of eleven, when his father joined the British Antarctic Survey. He was educated at the Leys School between 1981 and 1986 and now chairs the school's governing body.
He next studied mathematics and philosophy at Merton College, Oxford, graduating BA in 1989.
Rycroft joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1989. he was a Third Secretary in Geneva from 1990 to 1991, then was posted to the British Embassy in Paris until 1995. While there he was in the Chancery section and was promoted to Second Secretary. He returned to the FCO as a First Secretary in 1995. In 1995–96, Rycroft was Head of Section in the Eastern Adriatic Unit at the FCO: a demanding role, given the aftermath of the Yugoslav Wars.[citation needed] Very soon after taking up this role, he served as a member of the British deputation to the Dayton peace talks. Between 1996 and 1998 he was a desk officer in the FCO Policy Planners.[citation needed] He was next posted as First Secretary (Political) to the embassy in Washington, 1998–2002.
In 2002, Rycroft was appointed Private Secretary to Prime Minister Tony Blair, to advise him on matters related to foreign policy, the European Union, Northern Ireland and defence. During this time Rycroft wrote a letter to Mark Sedwill, private secretary to the foreign secretary, Jack Straw. The letter reveals that "we and the US would take action" without a new resolution by the UN security council if UN weapons inspectors showed Saddam had clearly breached an earlier resolution. In that case, he "would not have a second chance". That was the only way Britain could persuade the Bush administration to agree to a role for the UN and continuing work by UN weapons inspectors, the letter says. Dated 17 October 2002. "This letter is sensitive," Rycroft underlined. "It must be seen only by those with a real need to know its contents, and must not be copied further."
It was in this capacity that Rycroft issued the "Downing Street memo". During his time in Downing Street, in 2003, he was made a CBE.
Rycroft's appointment as Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister ended in 2004. He was British Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2005–2008, then until 2011 was back at the FCO as Director for the EU, later Europe. He was Chief Operating Officer at the FCO, 2011–14.
He became Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York in April 2015, serving until 2018.
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Matthew Rycroft
Sir Matthew John Rycroft KCMG CBE (/ˈraɪkrɒft/; born 16 June 1968) is a British civil servant and diplomat who served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from March 2020 to March 2025, appointed following the resignation of Sir Philip Rutnam. Rycroft previously served as Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development (DFID) from 2018 to 2020 and as the Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2015 to 2018.
The son of Professor Michael Rycroft, Rycroft was born in Southampton, before moving to Cambridge at the age of eleven, when his father joined the British Antarctic Survey. He was educated at the Leys School between 1981 and 1986 and now chairs the school's governing body.
He next studied mathematics and philosophy at Merton College, Oxford, graduating BA in 1989.
Rycroft joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1989. he was a Third Secretary in Geneva from 1990 to 1991, then was posted to the British Embassy in Paris until 1995. While there he was in the Chancery section and was promoted to Second Secretary. He returned to the FCO as a First Secretary in 1995. In 1995–96, Rycroft was Head of Section in the Eastern Adriatic Unit at the FCO: a demanding role, given the aftermath of the Yugoslav Wars.[citation needed] Very soon after taking up this role, he served as a member of the British deputation to the Dayton peace talks. Between 1996 and 1998 he was a desk officer in the FCO Policy Planners.[citation needed] He was next posted as First Secretary (Political) to the embassy in Washington, 1998–2002.
In 2002, Rycroft was appointed Private Secretary to Prime Minister Tony Blair, to advise him on matters related to foreign policy, the European Union, Northern Ireland and defence. During this time Rycroft wrote a letter to Mark Sedwill, private secretary to the foreign secretary, Jack Straw. The letter reveals that "we and the US would take action" without a new resolution by the UN security council if UN weapons inspectors showed Saddam had clearly breached an earlier resolution. In that case, he "would not have a second chance". That was the only way Britain could persuade the Bush administration to agree to a role for the UN and continuing work by UN weapons inspectors, the letter says. Dated 17 October 2002. "This letter is sensitive," Rycroft underlined. "It must be seen only by those with a real need to know its contents, and must not be copied further."
It was in this capacity that Rycroft issued the "Downing Street memo". During his time in Downing Street, in 2003, he was made a CBE.
Rycroft's appointment as Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister ended in 2004. He was British Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2005–2008, then until 2011 was back at the FCO as Director for the EU, later Europe. He was Chief Operating Officer at the FCO, 2011–14.
He became Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York in April 2015, serving until 2018.