---
title: "Seven Principles of Public Life — Definition & Meaning"
description: "The Seven Principles of Public Life are ethical standards for UK public office-holders, ensuring integrity and accountability in governance."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/seven-principles-of-public-life"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Seven Principles of Public Life are the ethical standards—selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership—expected of all UK public office-holders.
- Who formulated the Seven Principles of Public Life and when?
- What are the seven principles in order?
- How do the Nolan Principles differ from a code of conduct?
- Why are the Nolan Principles relevant to Indian civil services exams?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

Each principle carries a distinct operational meaning. Selflessness requires holders of public office to act solely in the public interest, not for personal material gain. Integrity forbids placing oneself under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence official duties. Objectivity demands that decisions—on appointments, contracts, recommendations—be made on merit. Accountability makes office-holders answerable to the public and submit to appropriate scrutiny. Openness requires that decisions and actions be taken transparently, with information restricted only when the wider public interest clearly demands. Honesty obliges truthfulness and the declaration of private interests that conflict with public duties. Leadership requires that holders of public office promote and support these principles by example. The Committee insisted these were not legally enforceable in themselves but should be promoted through codes of conduct and independent scrutiny.

### Opponents

The Seven Principles of Public Life, popularly called the Nolan Principles, were formulated by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in its First Report (May 1995), chaired by Lord Nolan. The committee was established by Prime Minister John Major in October 1994 against the backdrop of the "cash-for-questions" parliamentary scandal, to examine concerns about standards of conduct among holders of public office and to recommend changes to ensure the highest probity. The seven principles—Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty and Leadership (mnemonically "SIOAOHL")—now form the ethical bedrock of the UK Civil Service Code and the Ministerial Code, and are referenced internationally in public-administration ethics curricula.

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Example

In May 1995, Lord Nolan's Committee on Standards in Public Life published the Seven Principles in its First Report, prompted by the 1994 "cash-for-questions" scandal involving UK MPs accepting payments to table parliamentary questions.

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