Richard Pengelly was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Justice on 4 April 2022. Prior to this Richard held the post of Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health from July 2014, and previously Permanent Secretary of the Department for Regional Development (DRD).

Richard is a Chartered Accountant, and before joining the Department for Finance and Personnel in 1998 he worked in the Northern Ireland Audit Office and in private accounting practice. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration from Warwick University.