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 increasingly 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 established in 1949. Since then, sixteen people have held the position (one of them doing so twice). Of those people, only Holyoake, Marshall, Muldoon, Palmer, and Clark have eventually served as 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.
| Name | PM Served | Took Office | Left Office | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith Holyoake | Sidney Holland | 13 December 1949 | 20 September 1957 | National |
| 2 | Jack Marshall | Keith Holyoake | 20 September 1957 | 12 December 1957 | National |
| 3 | Clarence Skinner | Walter Nash | 12 December 1957 | 12 December 1960 | Labour |
| Jack Marshall, 2nd time | Keith Holyoake | 12 December 1960 | 9 February 1972 | National | |
| 4 | Robert Muldoon | Jack Marshall | 9 February 1972 | 8 December 1972 | National |
| 5 | Hugh Watt | Norman Kirk, Bill Rowling | 8 December 1972 | 10 September 1974 | Labour |
| 6 | Bob Tizard | Bill Rowling | 10 September 1974 | 12 December 1975 | Labour |
| 7 | Brian Talboys | Robert Muldoon | 12 December 1975 | 4 March 1981 | National |
| 8 | Duncan MacIntyre | Robert Muldoon | 4 March 1981 | 15 March 1984 | National |
| 9 | Jim McLay | Robert Muldoon | 15 March 1984 | 26 July 1984 | National |
| 10 | Geoffrey Palmer | David Lange | 26 July 1984 | 8 August 1989 | Labour |
| 11 | Helen Clark | Geoffrey Palmer, Mike Moore | 8 August 1989 | 2 November 1990 | Labour |
| 12 | Don McKinnon | Jim Bolger | 2 November 1990 | 16 December 1996 | National |
| 13 | Winston Peters | Jim Bolger, Jenny Shipley | 16 December 1996 | 14 August 1998 | New Zealand First |
| 14 | Wyatt Creech | Jenny Shipley | 14 August 1998 | 5 December 1999 | National |
| 15 | Jim Anderton | Helen Clark | 5 December 1999 | 15 August 2002 | Alliance |
| 16 | Michael Cullen | Helen Clark | 15 August 2002 | 19 November 2008 | Labour |
| 17 | Bill English | John Key | 19 November 2008 | (Present) | National |
Famous quotes containing the words deputy, prime, minister and/or zealand:
“Not all the water in the rough rude sea
Can wash the balm off from an anointed king;
The breath of worldly men cannot depose
The deputy elected by the Lord.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“And this must be the prime of life . . . I blink,
As if at pain; for it is pain, to think
This pantomime
Of compensating act and counter-act,
Defeat and counterfeit, makes up, in fact,
My ablest time.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“Rosalynn said, “Jimmy, if we could only get Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat up here on this mountain for a few days, I believe they might consider how they could prevent another war between their countries.” That gave me the idea, and a few weeks later, I invited both men to join me for a series of private talks. In September 1978, they both came to Camp David.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“Teasing is universal. Anthropologists have found the same fundamental patterns of teasing among New Zealand aborigine children and inner-city kids on the playgrounds of Philadelphia.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)