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Dr Peter Shergold

Dr Peter Shergold has been Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet since February 2003.

He received a B.A. (First Class Honours) in Politics and American Studies from the University of Hull; an M.A. in History at the University of Illinois; and a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics.  He migrated to Australia to take up a lectureship at the University of New South Wales in 1972.

In 1985 Dr Shergold became Head of the Department of Economic History at the University.  While an academic he wrote Working Class Life (1982), edited The Great Immigration Debate (1985), was a major contributor to Convict Workers (1988) and authored more than 50 academic articles on economic, social and labour history.  He has taught at the University of Illinois, Southampton University, the London School of Economics and Pennsylvania State University.  He has twice been a Fulbright Scholar.

In 1987 he joined the Australian Public Service to establish the Office of Multicultural Affairs.  He became a Deputy Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1990.  From 1991 he headed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).  At the end of his term in July 1994 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Comcare.

He was Public Service Commissioner from September 1995 to February 1998, playing a leading role in promoting legislative and administrative reform in the Australian Public Service (APS).  He continues to pursue his interest in the management of the APS through chairmanship of the Management Advisory Committee, and speaks extensively on public service issues.

In 1998 he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Workplace Relations and Small Business which, following the election, was expanded to become the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business.  He served in that capacity for almost four years before becoming, in January 2002, Secretary of the Department of Education, Science and Training.  He took a leading role in developing the government’s reform strategy for higher education.

Dr Shergold is Chair of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) Board and is also a member of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) Board.  He has served on the Executive Council of the Eastern Regional Organisation for Public Administration (EROPA).  In November 2005 he was made a Fellow of The Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA).

He was on the Board of Centrelink from 1998–2002.  From 2002-2003 he was a Board member of the Australian Research Council and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

He was appointed a Member in the Order of Australia (AM) on Australia Day 1996 and was made a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) on Australia Day 2007 for public service.

He seeks to manage his work-life balance by cross-country skiing, bush gardening, playing tennis and golf and researching family history; all he pursues with great enthusiasm unmatched by skill.

[Last Updated: 19 February 2007]