A Call to Public Service

One of the UK’s most eminent public servants, Sir Suma Chakrabarti, gave an address to students in Bucharest last month, making the case for a career in public service.

Sir Suma is now President of EBRD, but before then he had a long and distinguished career in the British civil service. I worked with him ten years ago when he was the Permanent Secretary at the UK’s Department for International Development, and I was running DFID’s programme in Russia.

I found his example then and his words to students in Romania now inspiring for anyone in public service or public life.

You can read the full text of Suma’s speech here. But let me pull out some points that struck me in particular.

That people should go into the public service because they want to achieve something that the markets cannot or will not provide. Suma gave two great quotes – from Einstein “only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile”, and from Gandhi – “if you want to find yourself, first lose yourself in helping others”. And he warned that the pay is miserable!

Secondly, that public service is at its worst when the people who work in it, be they politicians or civil servants, forget its purpose and redefine its objectives for personal or party gain, or to serve the provider not the citizen. In other words, when the civil service serves itself and not the public.

And that this happens all too often unless public servants stay alert to these temptations, keep innovating so that services remain relevant and accountable to citizens, and show the courage to stand up to vested interests and speak on behalf of the public interest.

He concluded by urging his audience to consider a career in public service. I made that choice 20 years ago. Sir Suma reminded me why I did so, and what a career in public service should be all about. Join the cause!