Peter Roger Shergold AC (born 27 September 1946) is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n academic and former public servant. Until February 2008, he was the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is an Australian Government department. The Department was first established in 1911...

 (PM&C), and as such was the nation's most senior public servant and a key adviser to the Prime Minister of Australia

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

. He was succeeded by Terry Moran, who had been the head of the Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

n Department of Premier and Cabinet

Government of Victoria

The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...

.

Education and early career

Shergold earned a Bachelor of Arts (first-class) in politics and American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 studies from the University of Hull

University of Hull

The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...

, and later a Master of Arts degree in American History from the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle and a Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 from the London School of Economics

London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...

. After moving to Australia, he became a lecturer in economics at the University of New South Wales in 1972. He was appointed as head of the university's economic history department in 1985.

In 1987 he began working for the Australian federal government

Government of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...

, firstly as head of the newly established Office of Multicultural Affairs. Having become deputy secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1990, he was appointed the CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting their lives...

 (1991–1994) and Comcare, a federal government workers' compensation authority (1994–1995). From 1995 to 1998, he was the Commissioner of the Australian Public Service

Australian Public Service

The Australian Public Service is the Australian federal civil service, the group of people employed by federal departments, agencies and courts under the Government of Australia, to administer the working of the public administration of the Commonwealth of Australia...

. He has also been the Secretary of the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business (1998–2002) and the Department of Education, Science and Training (2002–03). In 2003 he was appointed Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Post-PM&C career

After retiring from the PM&C Secretary position in February 2008, Shergold became the first head of the Centre for Social Impact, a joint collaboration between the business schools of the University of New South Wales

University of New South Wales

The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

, Melbourne Business School

Melbourne Business School

Melbourne Business School is a business school located in Melbourne, Australia that has been ranked in the Financial Times since 2005 and The Economist Top 20 in the World. MBS was placed as the second best business school in the Asia-Pacific in the 2010 QS Global 200 Business Schools Report....

, Swinburne University of Technology

Swinburne University of Technology

Swinburne University of Technology is an Australian public dual sector university based in Melbourne, Victoria. The institution was founded by the Honourable George Swinburne in 1908 and achieved university status in June 1992...

 and the University of Western Australia

University of Western Australia

The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...

. In that capacity he is a frequent media commentator on the relationship between governments and not-for-profit organisations, new forms of social business and entrepreneurship and corporate responsibility and accountability.He co-hosts 'Social Business' on SKYNews Business Channel.

From 2006-08, Shergold served as the chairman of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government

Australia and New Zealand School of Government

The Australia and New Zealand School of Government is an educational institution that teaches strategic management and high-level policy to public sector leaders....

. He is currently a non-executive director of financial services company AMP Limited

AMP Limited

AMP Limited is an Australian financial corporation. It operates primarily in Australia and New Zealand. AMP formed in 1849 as the Australian Mutual Provident Society, a non-profit life insurance company. In 1998 it was demutualised and listed on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges...

 and Australian law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is an Australian commercial law firm. It was founded in 1841.-History:Corrs Chambers Westgarth traces its history back to 1841 with the founding of the firm's first office in Melbourne. Corrs has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth...

. He is chairman of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research and the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and serves on the boards of the General Sir John Monash Foundation and the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence. He chairs the ethics committee of the Fundraising Institute Australia. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1996, and a Companion of the Order in 2007, as well as receiving the Centenary Medal

Centenary Medal

The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...

 in 2001.

In 2011 Shergold became the Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney

University of Western Sydney

The University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

. He was also appointed as chairman of New South Wales' Public Service Commission by Premier Barry O'Farrell

Barry O'Farrell

Barry Robert O'Farrell MP, is an Australian politician and is the 43rd Premier of New South Wales, Minister for Western Sydney, Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Ku-ring-gai for the Liberal Party since 1999.Born in...

.

External links

• Biography - University of Western Sydney