There has been a shuffle among Premier Sandy Silver’s deputy ministers.

He has appointed Pamela Muir, who has been absent for the past year on an educational leave, as the new Public Service Commissioner.

Tom Ullyett, the Deputy Minister for the Department of Justice, has been acting Public Service Commissioner since December 2016, when he left the Department of Justice.

Ullyett will retire from the government next month. Muir will start Sept. 10.

Meanwhile, Ed van Randen became the acting deputy minister at the Department of Environment on Aug. 1.

Joe MacGillivray, his predecessor, has left the government.

A competition will be held for the deputy minister positions at the Departments of Environment and Justice.

“Pamela Muir and Ed van Randen have been appointed based on their many years of experience as dedicated public servants and strong leaders,” Silver said in a statement.

“I look forward to working with them to make our public service the best it can be.

“I would like to thank Joe MacGillivray for his many years of service.”

The Public Service Commissioner heads the commission of the same name and is appointed under the Public Service Act for up to 10 years.

The commission develops, maintains, administers and supervises the public service and can delegate these responsibilities to departments.

Deputy ministers serve at the pleasure of the premier and take direction from the minister responsible for their department.

Muir began her career as an articling student with the Department of Justice in 1992.

This was followed by many years as legal counsel providing legal and policy advice to government on a range of topics. Those included the negotiation and implementation of First Nations land claim treaties and self-government agreements.

From 1999 to 2002, as devolution counsel and then devolution coordinator, Muir was involved in the negotiation and implementation of the transfer of programs and employees from the federal to the territorial government.

In 2014 she moved from her position as chief legislative counsel into the role of assistant deputy minister of strategic corporate services for the Executive Council Office (ECO).

Muir has been on leave in the past year to complete her master of laws degree from the University of Edinburgh.

She also has a bachelor of law from Dalhousie University and a bachelor of commerce from McGill University.

Van Randen joined the government in 2001 and has progressed through a variety of policy and resource management roles at the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources and the Department of Environment.

He has held positions as director of policy, assistant deputy minister for corporate services and climate change, and assistant deputy minister of environmental sustainability.

He is currently the assistant deputy minister for strategic corporate services with the ECO.

Van Randen attended Simon Fraser University, where he completed a bachelor degree in psychology and a master of science degree in biology.