"Neither man nor mandarin"
The most important, influential person in Wales - arguably - is a woman, one who sounds nothing like a civil servant, one who looks nothing like a civil servant and one whose relish at the thought of delivering better public services was so passionately put, Sir Humphrey would have blushed.
Sir Jon Shortridge, the retiring Permanent Secretary (in more ways than one), only just managed not to.
Dame Gillian Morgan - 'no relation' said the First Minister hastily - left the Rhondda at the age of 7 to live in Hampshire. She became a GP, working in hospitals and taking on various roles in the health service before heading towards management. She's been Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation since February 2002 but took a step back towards Wales when she was "excited" by becoming one of the three members of the Beecham review team, the team who advised the Assembly Government on reforming public services.
A passionate, excited Permanent Secretary then, who is planning to be just a little bit more visible than Sir Jon. She will, at least, have 'a profile but not an in your face profile".
Why?
Because the role will change. Gone is the need, argued Sir Jon this morning, to concentrate on laying the foundations. The man who pretty much wrote the Government of Wales Act has done that bit (even if some argue that there are plenty of wobbly bits beneath the concrete).
It's the same message as the one we heard from Rhodri Morgan in Llandudno. Wales has proved it is capable of governing itself. It's pretty clear that Dame Gillian's appointment confirms that the new mood, the new drive is towards creating more efficient and more distinctive Welsh public services.
If "the next phase of devolution" means anything, then that is probably it.
If Dame Gillian is indeed planning to concentrate on improving public services, then it seems inevitable that her own profile will be that little bit more public. But most of all I think it's fair to guess that someone who didn't use the word 'governance' once but talked bluntly about the challenges set by the One Wales document, about her 'passion' for making Wales one of the best, if not the best, small country in the world will play things differently to Sir Jon.
"If Wales were a patient" asked the Western Mail's smiling David Williamson, "what state would you say it's in?"
Maybe Dame Gillian, the ex GP, was already proving her new civil service credentials and had foreseen the question. Maybe she hadn't seen it coming. Either way the response was immediate and ... well, passionate. "Health good in parts", "in need of some preventive work", "not at death's door", "no expensive drugs necessary".
Just as well perhaps, given the tightest settlement in devolution's history.
And as for Sir Jon, was he looking forward to retirement?
He would spend the next few weeks like a lemming heading towards a cliff came the reply. Then it would stop and the former Permanent Secretary "will leave it all behind".
[Thank you First Minister for the title of this entry].
I'm Betsan Powys, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on .
°ä´Ç³¾³¾±ð²Ô³Ù²õÌýÌý Post your comment
As daughter of a former Permanent Secretary back in the days of the Welsh Office, Sir Hywel Evans, may I wish Dame Gillian every success in her post... my father would have been delighted at her initial approach.