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Sharon White

(1967-), Civil servant; Chief executive of Ofcom

Dame Sharon Michele White

Sitter in 2 portraits
Born to Jamaican parents who immigrated to the UK in the 1950s, Sharon White was born and raised in Leyton, east London. She studied Economics at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge and earned an MSc in Economics from University College London, before joining the Civil Service in 1989. She is currently Chief Executive of Ofcom (the regulator for the British communications industry). She was the Director General of Public Spending from 2012-3. In 2013, she was appointed Second Permanent Secretary at the Treasury, making her one of the most powerful women in Whitehall at that time. She was the first black person to become a permanent secretary at the Treasury and only the second woman. In November 2014, The Voice magazine named White the seventh most powerful black person in Britain.

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Sharon White, by Simon Frederick - NPG P2053

Sharon White

by Simon Frederick
archival inkjet print, 2016
NPG P2053

Women Permanent Secretaries, by Jillian Edelstein - NPG x199774

Women Permanent Secretaries

by Jillian Edelstein
chromogenic print, 21 February 2017
NPG x199774

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