title: Tamara Finkelstein
text: # Tamara Finkelstein
  
  Tamara Margaret Finkelstein CB (born 24 May 1967) is a British civil servant who is currently the permanent secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
  
  ## Early life and education
  
  Tamara Margaret Finkelstein was born on 24 May 1967 to the academic Ludwik Finkelstein and the Holocaust survivor and educator Mirjam Finkelstein. She has two brothers, Daniel Finkelstein, a journalist and a politician, and Anthony Finkelstein, a software engineer and civil servant. Her grandfather was Alfred Wiener.
  
  She was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls before studying engineering science at Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in 1989 and economics at the London School of Economics, graduating in 1992.
  
  ## Career
  
  Finkelstein joined HM Treasury in 1992 as an economic adviser. She became private secretary and speechwriter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1997 and a senior adviser in 2000. She served as deputy director for Sure Start from 2001 to 2004 before holding a number of director roles.
  
  After 22 years at the Treasury, she joined the Department of Health in 2014 as the Chief Operating Officer and a director-general. In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, she led the establishment of the building safety programme at the Department of Communities and Local Government. In 2018, she joined the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as director-general for EU Exit Delivery, and succeeded Clare Moriarty as the permanent secretary in 2019.
  
  Finkelstein has been a trustee for the charity Norwood since 2018.
  
  ## Honours
  
  Finkelstein was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2020 New Year Honours for public service.
  
  Government offices :
  
  | Preceded byClare Moriarty | Permanent Secretary of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2019 | Succeeded byincumbent |
  | - | - | - |
  