Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand

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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

Colour key (for political parties)
National Labour NZ First Alliance

	Name	Term of Office
1	Keith Holyoake	13 November 1954	20 September 1957	Holland
2	Jack Marshall	20 September 1957	12 December 1957	Holyoake
3	Clarence Skinner	12 December 1957	12 December 1960	Nash
(2)	Jack Marshall	12 December 1960	9 February 1972	Holyoake
4	Robert Muldoon	9 February 1972	8 December 1972	Marshall
5	Hugh Watt	8 December 1972	1 September 1974	Kirk
6	Bob Tizard	10 September 1974	12 December 1975	Rowling
7	Brian Talboys	12 December 1975	4 March 1981	Muldoon
8	Duncan MacIntyre	4 March 1981	15 March 1984
9	Jim McLay	15 March 1984	26 July 1984
10	Geoffrey Palmer	26 July 1984	8 August 1989	Lange
11	Helen Clark	8 August 1989	4 September 1990	Palmer
11	Helen Clark	8 August 1989	4 September 1990	Moore
12	Don McKinnon	4 September 1990	16 December 1996	Bolger
13	Winston Peters	16 December 1996	14 August 1998	Bolger
13	Winston Peters	16 December 1996	14 August 1998	Shipley
14	Wyatt Creech	14 August 1998	5 December 1999	Shipley
15	Jim Anderton	5 December 1999	15 August 2002	Clark
16	Michael Cullen	15 August 2002	19 November 2008	Clark
17	Bill English	19 November 2008	incumbent	Key

↑ 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.
↑ Steven Barnes, 'What About Me? Deputy Prime Ministership in New Zealand', Political Science, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2009, pp. 33-49

Deputy heads of government of Oceania

Sovereign states	Australia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue

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