Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand

This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
New Zealand
Constitution

Politics portal

The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power.

Generally, the position is held by the deputy leader of the ruling 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 post of Deputy Prime Minister was formally established in 1949, although it informally existed prior to then. Since 1949, sixteen people have held the position (one of them doing so twice). Of those people, only Holyoake, Marshall, Watt, Muldoon, Palmer, and Clark have eventually served as Prime Minister.[1]

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.[2]

List of Deputy Prime Ministers of New Zealand

Key:
      National       Labour       New Zealand First       Alliance
      Leader of junior party in a coalition government

No. Name Term of Office Party Prime Minister
1 Keith Holyoake 13 December 1949 20 September 1957 National Sidney Holland
2 Jack Marshall 20 September 1957 12 December 1957 National Keith Holyoake
3 Clarence Skinner 12 December 1957 12 December 1960 Labour Walter Nash
(2) Jack Marshall 12 December 1960 9 February 1972 National Keith Holyoake
4 Rob Muldoon 9 February 1972 8 December 1972 National Jack Marshall
5 Hugh Watt 8 December 1972 10 September 1974 Labour Norman Kirk
6 Bob Tizard 10 September 1974 12 December 1975 Labour Bill Rowling
7 Brian Talboys 12 December 1975 4 March 1981 National Rob Muldoon
8 Duncan MacIntyre 4 March 1981 15 March 1984 National
9 Jim McLay 15 March 1984 26 July 1984 National
10 Geoffrey Palmer 26 July 1984 8 August 1989 Labour David Lange
11 Helen Clark 8 August 1989 2 November 1990 Labour Geoffrey Palmer
Mike Moore
12 Don McKinnon 2 November 1990 16 December 1996 National Jim Bolger
13 Winston Peters 16 December 1996 14 August 1998 New Zealand First
Jenny Shipley
14 Wyatt Creech 14 August 1998 5 December 1999 National
15 Jim Anderton 5 December 1999 15 August 2002 Alliance Helen Clark
16 Michael Cullen 15 August 2002 19 November 2008 Labour
17 Bill English 19 November 2008 Incumbent National John Key
  1. ↑ Note: Some lists consider Hugh Watt as a New Zealand Prime Minister. Watt served as acting Prime Minister for seven days from 31 August to 6 September 1972 following the death of Norman Kirk. He is not normally counted in the official numbering of New Zealand Prime Ministers.
  2. ↑ Steven Barnes, 'What About Me? Deputy Prime Ministership in New Zealand', Political Science, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2009, pp. 33-49