John Whitehead (New Zealand)

John H. Whitehead, CNZM, is a former Secretary of the New Zealand Treasury, having been appointed in April 2003. He succeeded Alan Bollard.

Early career

Whitehead gained a Bachelor of Science with Honours in mathematics and a Master of Commerce with First Class Honours in economics.^[1] Before joining Treasury, Whitehead worked in the Statistics Department and was Deputy Director of the Labour Party Research Unit (1977–82). He holds a Masters of Commerce (Hons.) in Economics and a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Mathematics from the University of Canterbury.

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 – 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

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

References