John Chilcot facts for kids

Sir John Anthony Chilcot (born 22 April 1939 – died 3 October 2021) was an important British civil servant. A civil servant is someone who works for the government but is not an elected politician.

In 2009, he became the leader of the Iraq Inquiry, which is also known as the "Chilcot Inquiry." This inquiry looked into the reasons and events around the Iraq War that started in 2003.

Sir John Chilcot's Life and Work

Early Career in Public Service

Sir John Chilcot spent his whole career working for the government until he retired in 1997. He held many different jobs.

He was a top official, called the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, at the Northern Ireland Office. This office deals with government matters in Northern Ireland. He also worked at the Home Office, which is in charge of things like policing and immigration.

Sir John also served as a private secretary to several important government ministers, including Home Secretaries Roy Jenkins and William Whitelaw. He also worked for the head of the Civil Service.

Helping Intelligence Services

From 1999 to 2004, Sir John Chilcot had a special role. He was a "staff counsellor" for MI5 and MI6. These are Britain's intelligence services. His job was to help staff members with private and personal complaints about their work.

In 2004, he became a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. This is a group of important people who advise the King or Queen. Being a member gave him the special title 'The Right Honourable'.

Looking into the Iraq War

The Butler Review

In 2004, Sir John Chilcot was part of a group called the Butler Review. This group looked at how intelligence information was used before the Iraq War in 2003. Intelligence is secret information gathered about other countries.

The Chilcot Inquiry: What It Was About

On 15 June 2009, the Prime Minister at the time, Gordon Brown, announced that Sir John Chilcot would lead a new inquiry. This inquiry would investigate the Iraq War.

Some people were worried because Sir John had been part of the earlier Butler Review. Also, some politicians and groups were unhappy that the new inquiry would be held in secret. They also felt its rules were too strict and wouldn't allow anyone to be blamed.

Why the Report Took So Long

The Chilcot Inquiry took a very long time to finish. In 2015, many people criticized Sir John because the report still hadn't been published after six years. The head of the Civil Service even said that the inquiry had turned down offers of help to make the report faster.

Finally, on 29 October 2015, it was announced that the report would be published in June or July 2016.

Key Findings of the Report

The full report was published on 6 July 2016, more than seven years after the inquiry started. The report had several important findings:

• It said that at the time of the invasion in 2003, Saddam Hussein (the leader of Iraq) was not an urgent threat to Britain.
• The information about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction was presented as too certain.
• Peaceful ways to avoid war had not been fully tried.
• The United Kingdom and the United States had weakened the power of the United Nations Security Council.
• The way the legal reasons for going to war were found was "far from satisfactory."
• The report concluded that the war was not necessary.

Later Contributions

After his main career, Sir John Chilcot became the president of The Police Foundation. This is a special group that studies policing in Britain and suggests ways to improve it.

Personal Life and Passing

Sir John Chilcot was born on 22 April 1939. He went to Brighton College and then studied English and languages at Pembroke College, Cambridge.

He passed away on 3 October 2021, at the age of 82. He died from kidney disease.

Awards and Recognition

Sir John Chilcot received several important honours for his public service:

• He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1990.
• He was promoted to Knight Commander (KCB) in 1994.
• He became a Knight Grand Cross (GCB) in 1998.

These honours are given to people who have done great service for the country.

See also

In Spanish: John Chilcot para niños