John Whitehead (public servant)

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (December 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

John Henry Whitehead CNZM is a New Zealand economist. He served as Secretary of the Treasury between April 2003 and May 2011.

Early career[]

Whitehead graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science with Honours degree in Mathematics and later completed a Master of Commerce with First Class Honours in Economics in 1975, both from the University of Canterbury.^[1] Before joining Treasury, Whitehead worked in the Statistics Department and was Deputy Director of the Labour Party Research Unit (1977–82).

Treasury[]

Whitehead joined Treasury in 1982, subsequently filling positions as Director of Macroeconomic Policy and Director of Tax Policy and International Economics. He was appointed Deputy Secretary and Branch Manager of Corporate Services in 1996.

Between 1985 and 1992, he worked as an Economic Adviser in the Prime Minister's Office and David Lange's government (1985–88), and as a Minister (Economic) at the New Zealand High Commission in London. After acting in the role, Whitehead was appointed as Treasury Secretary and chief executive on 8 April 2003^[1] and served in that role until 31 May 2011.^[2]

World Bank[]

Whitehead was a World Bank Executive Director from August 2011 to July 2013 for Australia, Cambodia, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.^[3]

Civil honours[]

In the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours, Whitehead was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services as Secretary to the Treasury.^[4]

References[]