Lives Remembered: Roy Lauder Cunningham

My cousin-in-law Roy Lauder Cunningham, who died on 4 August, his 63rd birthday, was an uncommon civil servant. Equally at ease with the Lord Chancellor as he was with the most junior clerk, he earned a reputation as an exceptional manager, team builder and role model for a public servant. He will be remembered particularly for his work at the Department of Health on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill in 1989, where he led the team of policy officials involved in the complexities of its preparation and parliamentary stages. He often quoted the advice of his early mentor, James McGuiness: "Forget the mechanics. Find something new."

Born in Glasgow and educated at the city's Kelvinside Academy, he gained a First in Modern History and Political Economy at St Andrews University before entering the Scottish Office in 1967. He became private secretary to George Younger, the future Secretary of State for Defence, and he was then seconded to the Cabinet Office in London after his marriage in 1973.

He was assistant secretary to the Royal Commission on the National Health Service, which reported in 1979, and later joined the Department of Health. Following his work there on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, he was later instrumental in the creation of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. In 1990 he was awarded a Nuffield travel fellowship that took him to the United States and Canada on a study tour investigating public health issues, and he also became a Civil Service Fellow at the Department of Politics at Glasgow University.

His judgement of people and their abilities found full expression in his many years on the Fast Stream Assessor Panel for the Civil Service and, after taking early retirement in 1995, he worked as a recruitment consultant for the NHS, police authorities and government bodies in the UK and in Poland, Bulgaria and Ethiopia. He developed an interest in becoming a school governor and worked in that capacity for schools in Hertfordshire and Essex.

Colleagues described him as a modest and gentle man "wearing his intellectual ability lightly'', and they also stressed his warmth and ability to inspire and encourage people. He was fun and stimulating to work with, and drawn by these qualities, his large circle of friends and colleagues also reflected his large circle of interests: jazz, books, wine, classic cars, cinema – and broad-brimmed hats.

A superb cook (one ambition was to create the perfect trifle), his parties and generous hospitality were legendary and enlivened by his sense of humour and flair for telling a good story. He was an ideal travelling companion, and one holiday in Venice saw him combine his twin loves of thriller novels and food as he doggedly set about tracking down the restaurants frequented by the writer Donna Leon's detective, Inspector Brunetti.

Roy leaves his wife, Sue. He was for many years a member of the Athenaeum Club and friends and colleagues will gather there later this month to celebrate his life.

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