John Hamilton (RNZAF officer)

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John Hamilton
Born1953 (age 71–72)
AllegianceNew Zealand
Branch Royal New Zealand Air Force
Service years1971–2006
Rank Air Vice Marshal
Commands Chief of Air Force (2002–2006)
RNZAF Air Command (1998–2002)
RNZAF Base Ohakea (1996–1998)
No. 3 Squadron RNZAF (1989–1990)
AwardsCompanion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Member of the Royal Victorian Order

Air Vice Marshal John Henry Staples Hamilton, CNZM , MVO (born 1953) [1] is a former officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) who was Chief of Air Force from 2002 to 2006 and head of the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management from 2006 to 2014. Since 2019 he has been the operations manager for Air Napier.

Contents

Biography

Hamilton was born and grew up in Hawke's Bay, [2] living at Pōrangahau. He joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1971 as a university officer cadet, and graduated from the University of Canterbury in science. [3] He became a helicopter pilot, then a flying instructor. [2] He was in No. 3 Squadron RNZAF and then did exchange duty with the Royal Australian Air Force at RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland from 1979 to 1981, before returning to No. 3 Squadron. He, then a 28-year-old flight lieutenant, was equerry to Queen Elizabeth II when she and the Duke of Edinburgh visited New Zealand in October 1981, [3] for which he was made a member of the Royal Victorian Order. [4] He led the planning for the New Zealand deployment in the International Force East Timor, for which he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit [5] in the 2001 New Year Honours. He was Chief of Air Force with the rank of two-star air vice-marshal [2] from February 2002 [6] until he retired from the Air Force in April 2006. [7] He was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours for his leadership of the Air Force. [5]

In June 2006 it was announced that Hamilton would become the Director of New Zealand's Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management from August that year. [6] Following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, he became National Controller of the Civil Defence Emergency Response, with Civil Defence as lead agency, supported by New Zealand Police, Fire Service, Defence Force and many other agencies and organisations. [8] He stepped down from Civil Defence in 2014. [9]

He retired to Hawke's Bay but came out of retirement in 2019 to become operations manager for Air Napier. [2]

References

  1. ↑ "Hamilton, John Henry Staples, 1953-". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Voorend, Blair (17 June 2019). "Air Napier shakes things up with new ownership and change of management". Hawke's Bay Today. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Queen's equerry appointed". The Press . PA. 29 August 1981 – via Papers Past.
  4. ↑ "R.V.O. investments". The Press . PA. 21 October 1981 – via Papers Past.
  5. 1 2 "John Hamilton joins Kestrel Group as crisis management consultant". Scoop. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Civil Defence Ministry Director Announced" (Press release). New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. 11 July 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
  7. ↑ "Defence Force service chief's change of command" (Press release). Royal New Zealand Air Force. 26 April 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
  8. ↑ "National state of emergency extended". ONE News. TVNZ. 7 March 2011. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  9. ↑ "John Hamilton: Leaving Civil Defence". NewstalkZB. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
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