Marie Shroff

Dame Janet Marie Shroff (born 1944) is a New Zealand public servant. She has served as the Cabinet Secretary (1987–2003), Privacy Commissioner (2003–2014), and chair of the New Zealand Electoral Commission (2019–2024).

Biography Shroff was born in Auckland in 1944 and educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School and the University of Auckland. She worked as a research assistant for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (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. and during that time she co-led a senior officials group which prepared central government for the introduction of the proportional electoral system 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, and served in that role until November 2024, when she was succeeded by Simon Moore.

Shroff is a member of the Media Council and on the boards of Consumer NZ and the Consumer Foundation. In 2017, she became the inaugural chair of the Privacy Foundation New Zealand, and she continues to sit on its board.

Honours and awards

Shroff was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993. She was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1995 and a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2004 New Years honours list.