# Adam Sharples

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{{Short description|British executive, and former civil servant and economist}}
'''Adam John Sharples''', [CB](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath), [FRSA](/source/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Arts) (born 1954) is a British executive, and former civil servant and economist.

== Early life and education ==
Born in 1954, Sharples attended [Corpus Christi College, Oxford](/source/Corpus_Christi_College%2C_Oxford), in the early 1970s;<ref name="WhWh">[https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-34501 "Sharples, Adam John"], ''[Who's Who](/source/Who's_Who_(UK))'' (online ed., [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press), December 2018). Retrieved 21 August 2019.</ref> there he formed a rock band with [Mark Ellen](/source/Mark_Ellen), with whom he had attended [Winchester College](/source/Winchester_College), called [Ugly Rumours](/source/Ugly_Rumours_(band)); following auditions in late 1974, they invited [Tony Blair](/source/Tony_Blair) to be their singer but the group disbanded after three performances.<ref name="mcsmith">[Andy McSmith](/source/Andy_McSmith), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rOog9rvZDvUC Faces of Labour: The Inside Story]'' ([Verso](/source/Verso_Books), 2006), p. 33.</ref><ref>[Mark Ellen](/source/Mark_Ellen), [https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/sex-drugs-and-tony-blair-x3f80zghmgr "Sex, drugs – and Tony Blair"], ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'' (London), 26 April 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2019.</ref><ref>Charles Hauss, ''Comparative Politics'', 5th ed. ([Thomson Learning](/source/Cengage), 2006), p. 86.</ref> Sharples graduated from Oxford in 1975 and completed a [master's degree](/source/master's_degree) in economics at [Queen Mary College, University of London](/source/Queen_Mary_University_of_London), in 1977.<ref name="WhWh" />

== Career ==
=== The Labour Party and NUPE ===

In 1978, Sharples began working for the [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) as an economist<ref name="WhWh"/> and became a main author of its [Alternative Economic Strategy](/source/Alternative_Economic_Strategy).<ref name="mcsmith"/> In 1983, he left the party and spent five years as Head of Research at the [National Union of Public Employees](/source/National_Union_of_Public_Employees) (NUPE).<ref name="WhWh"/> In 1987, he and [Tom Sawyer](/source/Tom_Sawyer%2C_Baron_Sawyer) (chairman of the Labour Party's Home Policy Committee and Deputy General-Secretary of NUPE) proposed a "comprehensive policy review" for Labour "to bring discipline to a party drifting dangerously after its third electoral defeat", in the words of ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)''. The review was published in 1989.<ref>[Patrick Wintour](/source/Patrick_Wintour), "The Labour Party at Brighton: The driving force behind the policy review", ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'', 2 October 1989.</ref>

=== Civil service ===
Sharples entered [HM Civil Service](/source/Civil_Service_(United_Kingdom)) in 1988 as a principal in [HM Treasury](/source/HM_Treasury).<ref name="WhWh"/> His departure from NUPE drew comment from ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'', which used him as an example of the "haemorrhage of talent from the unions of the boys and girls who would, in other circumstances, have grown up into the [Norman Willises](/source/Norman_Willis) and [Clive Jenkinses](/source/Clive_Jenkins) of the early 21st century. What's galling isn't just that they're going, but that they are going to the very places doing the unions down".<ref>David Walker, "Times Diary", ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'' (London), 15 November 1988.</ref> 

Sharples was promoted at the Treasury, eventually serving as Director of Public Spending from 1998 to 2003. He spent a year at the [Board of Inland Revenue](/source/Board_of_Inland_Revenue) as Director for International and then joined the [Department for Work and Pensions](/source/Department_for_Work_and_Pensions) in 2004 as Director-General of the Work, Welfare and the Equality Group; in 2009, this position was abolished and he became Director-General for Employment, serving until 2011, when he left the civil service.<ref name="WhWh"/>

=== Private sector ===
Sharples worked for [Which?](/source/Which%3F) for a year, before serving as chairman of the [Ixion Group](/source/Ixion_Group) from 2012 until 2017. He has been chairman of the [Money Advice Trust](/source/Money_Advice_Trust) since 2016.<ref name="WhWh"/>

== Honours and awards ==
In the [2007 Birthday Honours](/source/2007_Birthday_Honours), Sharples was appointed a Companion of the [Order of the Bath](/source/Order_of_the_Bath) (CB).<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/58358/supplement/2 ''Supplement to the London Gazette''], 16 June 2007 (issue 58358), p. 2.</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-other}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=None}}
{{s-ttl|rows=2|title=Director-General, Work, Welfare and Equality Group<br/>[Department for Work and Pensions](/source/Department_for_Work_and_Pensions)|years=September 2004–March 2009}}
{{s-aft|after=Himself<br/><small>(as Director-General, Employment Group)</small>}}
{{s-aft|after=[Sue Owen](/source/Sue_Owen_(civil_servant))<br/><small>(as Director-General, Welfare and Wellbeing Group)</small>}}

{{s-bef|before=Himself<br/><small>(as Director-General, Work, Welfare and Equality Group)</small>}}
{{s-ttl|title=Director-General, Employment<br/>[Department for Work and Pensions](/source/Department_for_Work_and_Pensions)|years=2009–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=Position abolished}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharples, Adam}}
Category:Living people
Category:1954 births
Category:British civil servants
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Adam Sharples](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Sharples) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Sharples?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.