Minister of Defence (New Zealand)

Minister of Defence
Incumbent
Ron Mark
since 26 October 2017
Ministry of Defence
Style The Honourable
Member of
Reports to Prime Minister of New Zealand
Appointer Governor-General of New Zealand
Term length At Her Majesty's pleasure
Formation 22 July 1862
First holder Reader Wood
Salary $288,900[1]
Website www.beehive.govt.nz

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The Minister of Defence is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for the New Zealand armed forces and the Ministry of Defence.

The present Minister is Ron Mark, a member of New Zealand First.[2]

History

Initially, military affairs in New Zealand were controlled by the British colonial authorities, without input from Parliament, and there was no Minister of Defence as such. However, senior military officers did serve as members of the Executive Council. Three such appointments were made: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Wynyard, Major General Thomas Simson Pratt, and Lieutenant General Duncan Alexander Cameron.

In 1863, under the premiership of Alfred Domett, a Minister for Colonial Defence was appointed. Reader Wood, a former militia officer, became the first Minister. This post continued to exist with only brief interruption until Edward Stafford's short-lived premiership of 1872, in which no defence minister was appointed. As a consequence of the land wars, the defence portfolio was considered closely linked to the post of Minister of Native Affairs — on occasion, the latter post was formally titled "Minister of Native Affairs and Defence". It was not until the premiership of Robert Stout in 1884 that a separate Minister of Defence was formally appointed, and not until 1887 that the post was given to someone who was not simultaneously Minister of Native Affairs.

During World War II, the post was supplemented by several others — a Minister of National Service (conscription), a Minister of Supply and Munitions, a Minister in Charge of War Expenditure, and a Minister of Armed Forces and War Co-ordination. All were part of the special War Cabinet, but only the first was a member of the regular domestic Cabinet.

List of Defence Ministers

Colour key
(for political parties)

  Independent     Liberal     Reform  
  United     Labour     National     NZ First  

No. Name Portrait Term of Office Prime Minister
1 Reader Wood 22 July 1862 30 October 1863 Domett
2 Harry Atkinson 24 November 1864 16 October 1865 Weld
3 Theodore Haultain 31 October 1865 28 June 1869 Stafford
4 Donald McLean 28 June 1869 10 September 1872 Fox
1872 - 1884: No separate appointments, although John Bryce twice held office as "Minister of Native Affairs and Defence";
broken by William Rolleston from 4 February to 19 October 1881.
5 John Ballance 16 July 1884 8 October 1887 Stout
6 Thomas Fergus 8 October 1884 17 October 1889 Atkinson
7 William Russell 17 October 1889 24 January 1891
8 Richard Seddon 24 January 1891 22 June 1896 Ballance
Seddon
9 Thomas Thompson 22 June 1896 23 January 1900
(8) Richard Seddon 23 January 1900 10 June 1906
10 Albert Pitt 21 June 1906 18 November 1906 Hall-Jones
Ward
11 Joseph Ward 23 November 1906 28 March 1912
12 Arthur Myers 28 March 1912 10 July 1912 Mackenzie
13 James Allen 10 July 1912 28 April 1920 Massey
14 Heaton Rhodes 21 July 1920 18 January 1926
Bell
Coates
15 Frank Rolleston 18 January 1926 26 November 1928
16 William Downie Stewart, Jr. 28 November 1928 10 December 1928
17 Thomas Wilford 10 December 1928 10 December 1929 Ward
18 John Cobbe 10 December 1929 6 December 1935
Forbes
19 Fred Jones 6 December 1935 13 December 1949 Savage
Fraser
20 Tom Macdonald 13 December 1949 26 September 1957 Holland
21 Dean Eyre 26 September 1957 12 December 1957 Holyoake
22 Philip Connolly 12 December 1957 12 December 1960 Nash
(21) Dean Eyre 12 December 1960 12 December 1966 Holyoake
23 David Thomson 12 December 1966 9 February 1972
24 Allan McCready 9 February 1972 8 December 1972 Marshall
25 Arthur Faulkner 8 December 1972 10 September 1974 Kirk
26 Bill Fraser 10 September 1974 12 December 1975 Rowling
(24) Allan McCready 12 December 1975 13 December 1978 Muldoon
27 Frank Gill 13 December 1978 21 August 1980
(23) David Thomson 28 August 1980 26 July 1984
28 Frank O'Flynn 26 July 1984 24 July 1987 Lange
29 Bob Tizard 24 July 1987 9 February 1990
Palmer
30 Peter Tapsell 9 February 1990 2 November 1990
Moore
31 Warren Cooper 2 November 1990 1 March 1996 Bolger
32 Paul East 1 March 1996 5 December 1997
33 Max Bradford 5 December 1997 5 December 1999 Shipley
34 Mark Burton 5 December 1999 12 October 2005 Clark
35 Phil Goff 12 October 2005 19 November 2008
36 Wayne Mapp 19 November 2008 14 December 2011 Key
37 Jonathan Coleman 14 December 2011 6 October 2014
38 Gerry Brownlee 6 October 2014 2 May 2017
English
39 Mark Mitchell 2 May 2017 26 October 2017
40 Ron Mark 26 October 2017 Incumbent Ardern

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.parliament.nz/media/3151/parliamentary-salaries-and-allowances-determination-2016.pdf
  2. ↑ "Ministerial List". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
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