Chief of Army (New Zealand)

Chief of Army
Incumbent Rose King since 27 August 2024
New Zealand Army
Style	Major General
Abbreviation	CA
Member of	New Zealand Defence Force
Reports to	Chief of Defence Force
Term length	Three years, renewable
Formation	7 December 1910
First holder	Maj Gen Sir Alexander Godley

Chief of Army (CA) is the effective commander of the New Zealand Army, responsible to the Chief of Defence Force (CDF) for raising, training and sustaining those forces necessary to meet agreed government outputs. The CA acts as principal advisor to the CDF on Army matters, though for operations the Army's combat units fall under the command of the Land Component Commander, Joint Forces New Zealand. The rank associated with the position is major general, and CAs are generally appointed on a three-year term. ^[1]

The position was originally formed as Commandant and General Officer Commanding the New Zealand Military Forces in 1910, changing to Chief of the General Staff in 1937 and, finally, CA in 2002. ^[2] Major General Rose King, the current CA, has been in the post since 27 August 2024. King is the first woman to serve in the role. ^[3]

Appointees

The below indicated * (asterisk) indicates that the individual was subsequently promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Chief of Defence Force.

The following list chronologically records those who have held the post of Chief of Army or its preceding positions, with rank and honours as at the completion of the individual's term. ^[2]

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
Commandant and General Officer Commanding the New Zealand Military Forces
1		Major General Sir Alexander Godley KCMG	7 December 1910	10 September 1914	3 years, 277 days
2		Major General Sir Alfred Robin KCMG CB	11 September 1914	9 December 1919	5 years, 89 days
3		Major General Sir Edward Chaytor KCMG KCVO CB	10 December 1919	30 April 1924	4 years, 142 days
4		Major General Charles Melvill CB CMG DSO	1 May 1924	6 December 1925	1 year, 219 days
5		Major General Robert Young CB CMG DSO	7 December 1925	31 March 1931	5 years, 114 days
6		Major General Sir William Sinclair-Burgess KBE CB CMG DSO	1 April 1931	31 March 1937	5 years, 364 days
Chief of the General Staff
1		Major General Sir John Duigan KBE CB DSO	1 April 1937	31 May 1941	4 years, 60 days
2		Lieutenant General Sir Edward Puttick KCB DSO & Bar	1 August 1941	31 December 1945	4 years, 152 days
3		Major General Sir Norman Weir KBE CB	1 January 1946	31 March 1949	3 years, 89 days
4		Major General Keith Stewart CB DSO OBE	1 April 1949	31 March 1952	2 years, 365 days
5		Major General William Gentry CB CBE DSO & Bar	1 April 1952	14 August 1955	3 years, 135 days
6		Major General Stephen Weir CB DSO & Bar	15 August 1955	30 August 1960	5 years, 15 days
7		Major General Leonard Thornton* CB CBE	1 September 1960	31 March 1965	4 years, 211 days
8		Major General Walter McKinnon CB CBE	1 April 1965	31 March 1967	1 year, 364 days
9		Major General Robert Dawson CB CBE DSO	1 April 1967	31 March 1970	2 years, 364 days
10		Major General Richard Webb* CBE	1 April 1970	28 September 1971	1 year, 180 days
11		Major General Les Pearce CB CBE	29 September 1971	30 September 1973	2 years, 1 day
12		Major General Robin Holloway CB CBE	1 October 1973	14 November 1976	3 years, 44 days
13		Major General Ronald Hassett CB CBE	15 November 1976	15 November 1978	2 years, 0 days
14		Major General Brian Poananga CB CBE	16 November 1978	15 November 1981	2 years, 364 days
15		Major General Rob Williams CB MBE	16 November 1981	11 December 1984	3 years, 25 days
16		Major General John Mace* CB OBE	12 December 1984	30 November 1987	2 years, 353 days
17		Major General Don McIver OBE	1 December 1987	28 February 1989	1 year, 89 days
18		Major General Bruce Meldrum CB OBE	1 March 1989	29 February 1992	2 years, 365 days
19		Major General Anthony Birks CB OBE	1 March 1992	24 February 1995	2 years, 360 days
20		Major General Piers Reid CBE	25 February 1995	25 February 1998	3 years, 0 days
21		Major General Maurice Dodson CBE MC	26 February 1998	February 2002	4 years
22		Major General Jerry Mateparae ONZM	February 2002	30 April 2002	2 months
Chief of Army
1		Major General Jerry Mateparae* ONZM	1 May 2002	30 April 2006	3 years, 364 days	[4]
2		Major General Lou Gardiner ONZM	1 May 2006	30 April 2009	2 years, 364 days
3		Major General Rhys Jones*	1 May 2009	23 January 2011	1 year, 267 days
4		Major General Tim Keating* MNZM	February 2011	December 2012	1 year, 10 months
5		Major General Dave Gawn MBE	25 February 2013	9 September 2015	2 years, 196 days
6		Major General Peter Kelly MNZM	10 September 2015	31 August 2018	2 years, 355 days
7		Major General John Boswell DSD	1 September 2018	26 August 2024	5 years, 360 days
8		Major General Rose King	27 August 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 4 days

References

1. "The New Zealand Army Leadership Team". New Zealand Army. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
2. "Chronological List of New Zealand Army Chiefs". Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth. regiments.org. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007.
3. McCulloch, Craig (28 August 2024). "Army gets first woman chief as new Defence Force leadership announced". RNZ News . Retrieved 28 August 2024.
4. "Biographical Notes: Lieutenant General Jeremiah (Jerry) Mateparae" (PDF). Beehive The official website of the New Zealand Government. Retrieved 27 April 2025.