Secretary of State LUCY FRAZER has appointed PAUL SWEENEY Interim Chair of National Lottery Community Fund.
Sweeney took up post on 1 August, assuming the position for a 12-month period or until a permanent appointment is made. He replaces BLONDEL CHUFF, who resigns 18 months early after two and a half years.
His professional background has predominantly been in non-profit organisations in Northern Ireland, working in the voluntary and community sector.
Sweeney was Director of Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust, an organisation funding community-based self-help initiatives before joining the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) in 1994.
Initially on secondment as an adviser on community development and reconciliation, he went on to hold a number of senior roles, eventually becoming Permanent Secretary in the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure in 2006 and Permanent Secretary in the Department of Education in 2010.
Since retiring from NICS, Sweeney has undertaken various trustee roles in organisations involved in regeneration, culture and young people.
He is currently Chair of National Lottery Community Fund’s Northern Ireland Funding Committee, coordinating investment in good causes in the region.