Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand
Coat of Arms of New Zealand
Incumbent Grant Robertson since 6 November 2020
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Style	Mr Deputy Prime Minister (informal) The Honourable (formal) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of	Cabinet of New Zealand Executive Council
Reports to	Prime Minister of New Zealand
Appointer	Governor-General of New Zealand
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	13 December 1949; 73 years ago (1949-12-13)
First holder	Keith Holyoake
Salary	NZ$334,734 annually
Website	www.beehive.govt.nz

The deputy prime minister of New Zealand (Māori: Te pirimia tuarua o Aotearoa) is the second most senior member of the Cabinet of New Zealand. The officeholder usually deputises for the prime minister at official functions. The current deputy prime minister is Grant Robertson.

The role existed on an informal basis for as long as the office of prime minister/premier has existed, but the office of "deputy prime minister" was formally established as a ministerial portfolio in 1949. This means that Keith Holyoake is considered as the first deputy prime minister. It was formally designated as a full cabinet level position in 1954.

Appointment and duties

Generally, the position is held by the deputy leader of the largest party, but now that the MMP electoral system makes coalitions more likely, the role may instead go to the leader of a junior party. This occurred with Winston Peters, leader of New Zealand First, and Jim Anderton, leader of the Alliance. The current deputy prime minister, Grant Robertson of the Labour Party, has the role even though his party's deputy leader is Kelvin Davis. After the 2020 election, Davis turned down the position, and Robertson was appointed instead.

The post of deputy prime minister was formally established in 1949. Eighteen individuals have held the position (two of them doing so twice) and of those people: Holyoake, Marshall, Watt, Muldoon, Palmer, Clark and English have eventually served as prime minister. The deputy prime minister has always been a member of the Cabinet, and has always held at least one substantive portfolio.

The Deputy Prime Minister "...can, if necessary" exercise the statutory and constitutional functions and powers of the prime ministership if the Prime Minister is unavailable or unable. They can also do the same as Acting Prime Minister, in consultation with the Prime Minister if it is appropriate and practicable. The Deputy Prime Minister can also temporarily act as Prime Minister until the leadership of the government is determined in some cases, like the death or incapacity of the Prime Minister.

Little scholarly attention has focused on deputy prime ministers in New Zealand or elsewhere. In 2009, an article by Steven Barnes appeared in Political Science where nine 'qualities' of deputy prime ministership were identified: temperament; relationships with their Cabinet and caucus; relationships with their party; popularity with the public; media skills; achievements as Deputy Prime Minister; relationship with the Prime Minister; leadership ambition; and method of succession. Barnes conducted a survey of journalists, academics, and former members of parliament to rank New Zealand's deputy prime ministers since 1960. Across the nine deputy prime minister 'qualities', Don McKinnon achieved the number one ranking, followed by Brian Talboys, Michael Cullen, and John Marshall. In a second 'overall' ranking, Cullen was ranked number one, followed by Talboys, McKinnon, and Marshall. Jim Anderton, Winston Peters, and Bob Tizard were ranked lowest in both sections of the survey.

List of deputy prime ministers of New Zealand

Key

  Labour   National   NZ First   Alliance

No.		Name	Portrait	Concurrent portfolio(s)	Term of office		Prime Minister
	1	Keith Holyoake (1904–1983)		Minister of Agriculture	13 December 1949	20 September 1957		Holland
	2	Jack Marshall (1912–1988)		Attorney-General Minister of Justice	20 September 1957	12 December 1957		Holyoake
	3	Jerry Skinner (1900–1962)		Minister of Agriculture Minister of Lands	12 December 1957	12 December 1960		Nash
	(2)	Jack Marshall (1912–1988)		Minister of Overseas Trade Minister of Industries and Commerce Minister of Labour Minister of Immigration	12 December 1960	9 February 1972		Holyoake
	4	Robert Muldoon (1921–1992)		Minister of Finance	9 February 1972	8 December 1972		Marshall
	5	Hugh Watt (1912–1980)		Minister of Labour Minister of Works	8 December 1972	1 September 1974		Kirk
	6	Bob Tizard (1924–2016)		Minister of Finance	10 September 1974	12 December 1975		Rowling
	7	Brian Talboys (1921–2012)		Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Overseas Trade	12 December 1975	4 March 1981		Muldoon
	8	Duncan MacIntyre (1915–2001)		Minister of Agriculture	4 March 1981	15 March 1984
	9	Jim McLay (born 1945)		Attorney-General Minister of Justice	15 March 1984	26 July 1984
	10	Geoffrey Palmer (born 1942)		Attorney-General Minister of Justice	26 July 1984	8 August 1989		Lange
	11	Helen Clark (born 1950)		Minister of Labour Minister of Health	8 August 1989	2 November 1990		Palmer
								Moore
	12	Don McKinnon (born 1939)		Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Overseas Trade	2 November 1990	16 December 1996		Bolger
	13	Winston Peters (born 1945)		Treasurer	16 December 1996	14 August 1998
								Shipley
	14	Wyatt Creech (born 1946)		Minister of Education Minister of Health	14 August 1998	10 December 1999
	15	Jim Anderton (1938–2018)		Minister of Economic Development Minister of Customs	10 December 1999	15 August 2002		Clark
	16	Michael Cullen (1945–2021)		Minister of Finance Leader of the House	15 August 2002	19 November 2008
	17	Bill English (born 1961)		Minister of Finance Minister for Infrastructure	19 November 2008	12 December 2016		Key
	18	Paula Bennett (born 1969)		Minister of State Services Minister of Police Minister of Tourism	12 December 2016	26 October 2017		English
	(13)	Winston Peters (born 1945)		Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister for State Owned Enterprises	26 October 2017	6 November 2020		Ardern
	19	Grant Robertson (born 1971)		Minister of Finance Minister for Infrastructure	6 November 2020	Incumbent

Living former deputy prime ministers

As of March 2023, there are eight living former New Zealand deputy prime ministers, as seen below. The most recent deputy prime minister to die was Michael Cullen (served 2002–2008), on 19 August 2021, aged 76.

• Living former deputy prime ministers of New Zealand
• 

  Sir Jim McLay
  served 1984
  born 1945 (age 78)

• 

  Sir Geoffrey Palmer
  served 1984–1989
  born 1942 (age 80)

• 

  Helen Clark
  served 1989–1990
  born 1950 (age 73)

• 

  Sir Don McKinnon
  served 1990–1996
  born 1939 (age 84)

• 

  Winston Peters
  served 1996–1998;
  2017–2020
  born 1945 (age 77)

• 

  Wyatt Creech
  served 1998–1999
  born 1946 (age 76)

• 

  Sir Bill English
  served 2008–2016
  born 1961 (age 61)

• 

  Paula Bennett
  served 2016–2017
  born 1969 (age 53)