Janet Paraskeva

Janet Paraskeva (born 28 May 1946, Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales) is a Welsh-Greek-Cypriot British government official.

She was appointed as the First Civil Service Commissioner on 1 January 2006. On 15 November 2007 Paraskeva was announced by Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, as first Chair of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission. Her appointment, which will last four (4) years, took effect on 19 November 2007.

Paraskeva began her career as a science and mathematics teacher in 1967. After graduating from the Open University in 1983 with a social sciences degree, Paraskeva joined HM Inspector of Schools where she served until 1988.

She has served as chief executive at the Law Society's Council and was Director for England of the National Lottery Charities Board as well as being the force being setting up and running the England operation, awarding more than £1.5bn to voluntary organisations. Paraskeva has also served as a magistrate and as a member of the Youth Justice Board.

She is affiliated with ChildLine, Ofsted and the British Youth Council. Since 2000, she has been a trustee of the civic group Common Purpose. [cite news
url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/story/0,,379320,00.html
title=Up the reformation
date=October 9, 2000
work=The Guardian]

On 5 September 2005, she was appointed to the board of Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency as a non-executive director. In February 2006, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell appointed Janet Paraskeva as head of the new Olympic Lottery Distributor (OLD), to serve in a four year term. She will be joined by other board members, who have not been appointed yet. The OLD came into existence in July 2005, following London's success in being selected as the city to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. The body's key role will be to ensure proper, timely and effective distribution of Lottery money and to fund the provision of facilities, services and functions required for the staging of the London 2012 Summer Olympics & Paralympic Games.

Paraskeva has been a strong advocate for gay and lesbian rights in the United Kingdom. She has stated her intention, under the Civil Partnerships Act, to 'marry' her partner of more than a decade, whom she will only refer to as 'Mary'. Paraskeva has two children from her first marriage.

In 2006 Paraskeva, along with numerous other Greek Cypriots, was featured in a book by Kyriakos Tsioupras [http://www.haringeyindependent.co.uk/display.var.685475.0.its_all_greek_to_them.php] called "It's all Greek to them" focussing on Cypriots who've had substantial influence within their communities.

In 1978, she was awarded the Robert Schuman Silver Medal for European Unity.

References

External links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/gayrights/story/0,,1670141,00.html "The Guardian"]
* [http://www.civilservicecommissioners.gov.uk/the_cs_commissioners.aspx#paraskeva Civil Service biography]
* [http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2005/051220_commissioner.aspx Cabinet Office release]
* [http://biographies.parliament.uk/engine.asp?lev1=0&lev2=43&menu=600&biog=y&id=54344&page=Jan... Biodata]