Helen Ghosh
Helen Ghosh | |
|---|---|
| Master of Balliol College, Oxford | |
| Assumed office 3 April 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Drummond Bone |
| Director general of the National Trust | |
| In office 12 November 2012 – 2 April 2018 | |
| Chairman | Simon Jenkins Tim Parker |
| Preceded by | Fiona Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | Hilary McGrady |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department | |
| In office 1 January 2011 – November 2012 | |
| Secretary of State | Theresa May |
| Preceded by | David Normington |
| Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | |
| In office 7 November 2005 – 31 December 2010 | |
| Secretary of State | Margaret Beckett David Miliband Hilary Benn Caroline Spelman |
| Preceded by | Brian Bender |
| Succeeded by | Bronwyn Hill |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Helen Frances Kirkby 21 February 1956 Farnborough, Hampshire, England |
| Spouse | Peter Ghosh (m. 1979) |
| Relations | William Taylor Kirkby (father) Eileen Marguerite Winifred Howe (mother), librarian |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | King's Mound and the Master's Lodgings, Balliol College, Oxford (official residences of the Master of Balliol) |
| Alma mater | St Hugh's College, Oxford Hertford College, Oxford |
| Occupation | University college administrator |
| Profession | Civil servant, charity administrator, university administrator |
Dame Helen Frances Ghosh DCB (/ɡəʊʃ/; gauche; née Kirkby; born 21 February 1956) is a former British civil servant who has been Master of Balliol College, Oxford, since 2018. She was previously director-general of the National Trust from November 2012 to April 2018.
From 1979 to 2012 she was a British civil servant. She was Permanent Secretary at the Home Office from January 2011 to November 2012, and prior to that was permanent secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) from November 2005 to the end of 2010. On appointment at DEFRA, she was the only female permanent secretary to head a major department of the British Government.