Sir Douglas William Gretton WassGCB (15 April 1923 – 4 January 2017) was a British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury from 1974 to 1983.
Wass was born in Wallasey, Merseyside the son of Arthur, a customs official and his wife, Elsie. He attended the independent Nottingham High School winning a maths scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge graduating with a double first. During the second world war he worked in advanced weapons research in the Royal Navy, joining the Treasury in 1946.[1][2]
Wass was Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury from 1974 to 1983 and served as joint head of the civil service following the retirement of Sir Ian Bancroft in 1981 until his own retirement.[3]
He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1971, elevated to Knight Commander (KCB) in 1975 and further elevated to Knight Grand Cross (GCB) in 1980. In 1985, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Letters) by the University of Bath.[4]
In 1983, Sir Douglas presented the annual BBC Reith Lectures. In a series of six lectures titled Government and the Governed, he examined the role and responsibilities of government.
Wass died on 4 January 2017 at the age of 93 and was survived by his wife Milica (nee Pavičič) whom he married in 1954, and his daughter Sasha Wass KC and his son Andrew and four grandchildren.[2]
^‘WASS, Sir Douglas (William Gretton)’, Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011 ; online edn, Nov 2011 accessed 8 March 2012
^ ab"Sir Douglas Wass obituary". The Guardian. 5 January 2017. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023.
^Hook, Andrew The Strange career of democracy, Sept. 17, 2009 Archived February 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^"Honorary Graduates 1989 to present". bath.ac.uk. University of Bath. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
Sir Douglas William Gretton Wass GCB (15 April 1923 – 4 January 2017) was a British civil servant who served as Permanent Secretary to HM Treasury from...
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Sir Laurence Helsby (1962–1968) (joint) Sir Douglas Allen (1968–1974) (jointly until 1968) Sir DouglasWass (1974–1983) Sir Peter Middleton (1983–1991)...
The Two Edged Sword 1982 Denis Donoghue, The Arts Without Mystery 1983 DouglasWass, Government and the Governed 1984 John Searle, Minds, Brains and Science...
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of Duntisborne, governor of the Bank of England from 1973 until 1983 DouglasWass (1923–2017), sometime permanent secretary of the Treasury and Head of...
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and poet (died 2014) 15 April Charlie Pawsey, footballer (died 2012) DouglasWass, civil servant (died 2017) 16 April – Stewart Adams, chemist (died 2019)...
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January 25, 2019. Wass, Mike (September 27, 2019). "Olivia Holt Is Back With A Catchy Banger Called "Bad Girlfriend"". Idolator. Wass, Mike (August 28...
("Call Me Flatch") Sam Straley as Lloyd "Shrub" Mallet ("Call Me Flatch") Ted Wass as Harley, Kat's deceased father ("Call Me Shellfish", "Call Me Dame Booty...
Malden (1912–2009), actor Janet Margolin (1943–1993), actress, married to Ted Wass Dean Martin (1917–1995), actor, singer Andrew Marton (1904–1992), actor Samuel...
Maggio, Lauren A.; Willinsky, John M.; Steinberg, Ryan M.; Mietchen, Daniel; Wass, Joseph L.; Dong, Ting (2017). "Wikipedia as a gateway to biomedical research:...
character, blundering American detective Sgt. Clifton Sleigh, portrayed by Ted Wass. Inspector Clouseau and the Pink Panther diamond, both of which had disappeared...
of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC). Wass Stevens as Paul Capra, a senior union official in South Philadelphia and...
incomplete). In 2002, a former Junior Home Office Minister during the 1980s, Douglas Hogg, admitted to setting 600 tariffs between 1986 and 1989 on behalf of...
1986, for syndication, directed by Paul Bogart, starring John Gielgud, Ted Wass, Andrea Marcovicci and Alyssa Milano. On January 27, 1996, a movie, The Canterville...
created by Julie Durk and executive produced by Emily Fox, Ryan Seacrest, Nina Wass, Andrea Shay, and Jeffrey Reiner. Fox also serves as the showrunner. Reiner...
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