Dame Janet Marie Shroff (born 1944) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

public servant who served as the Cabinet Secretary and then as Privacy Commissioner. Shroff was born in Auckland and educated at

Epsom Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.'' , coordinates = , type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities , established = 12 February 1917 , MOE = 64 , principal = Lorraine Pound , colo ...

and the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. She worked as a research assistant for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

(MFAT) and then as a journalist for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. Her husband also worked for MFAT, and so she worked as a teacher at Samoa College, and then for the UK Cabinet Office during his foreign postings. On her return to New Zealand she worked for the

State Services Commission The Public Service Commission (PSC; Māori: ''Te Kawa Mataaho''), called the State Services Commission until 2020, is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing, and improving the performance of the ...

in policy development and then on the creation of

State-owned Enterprises A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

. From 1987 to 2003 she served as Secretary of the Cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council of New Zealand and during that time she co-led a senior officials group which prepared central government for the introduction of the

proportional electoral system Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

in New Zealand. From 2003 to 2014 she served as Privacy Commissioner. In August 2019 she was appointed to chair the

New Zealand Electoral Commission The Electoral Commission ( mi, Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri) is an independent Crown entity set up by the New Zealand Parliament. It is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections and referendums, promoting compliance with elect ...

. She is a member of the Media Council and on the boards of

Consumer NZ Consumer NZ, previously known as Consumers' Institute of New Zealand, is an organization that covers a wide range of activities relating to consumer protection and information. Its work includes comparative tests and surveys of consumer goods and ...

, the Consumer Foundation, and in 2017 Shroff became the inaugural chair of the Privacy Foundation New Zealand, and she continues to sit on its board. Marie Shroff DNZM investiture

Shroff was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993. She was made a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in 1995 and a Companion of the

New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

in the 2004 New Years honours list. In the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

, Shroff was promoted to Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the State and the community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shroff, Marie Living people New Zealand public servants New Zealand Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit University of Auckland alumni People educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School 1944 births