Minister of Defence | |
---|---|
![]() | |
![]() | |
Ministry of Defence | |
Style | The Honourable |
Member of | |
Reports to | Prime Minister of New Zealand |
Appointer | Governor-General of New Zealand |
Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
Formation | 22 July 1862 |
First holder | Reader Wood |
Salary | $288,900 [1] |
Website | www.beehive.govt.nz |
![]() |
---|
![]() |
The minister of defence is a minister in the New Zealand Government with responsibility for the New Zealand Defence Force and the Ministry of Defence.
The present minister is Judith Collins, a member of the National Party. [2]
Initially, military affairs in New Zealand were controlled by the British-appointed governor, without input from the New Zealand Parliament, which was only established in 1853. There was no minister of defence as such, as the governor retained control over all armed forces in the colony. [3] 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 New Zealand 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. Until 1896 the responsibility for the New Zealand Police rested with the minister of defence before being allocated to the minister of justice instead. [4]
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.
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 | Phil 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 | 10 December 1999 | Shipley | ||
34 | Mark Burton | ![]() | 10 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 | 6 November 2020 | Ardern | ||
41 | Peeni Henare | ![]() | 6 November 2020 | 1 February 2023 | |||
Hipkins | |||||||
42 | Andrew Little | ![]() | 1 February 2023 | 27 November 2023 | |||
43 | Judith Collins | ![]() | 27 November 2023 | Incumbent | Luxon |
The New Zealand Defence Force is the three-branched military of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, promoting its interests, safeguarding peace and security, as well as supporting peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. It consists of three services: the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), the New Zealand Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), as well as 'tri-service' components. As of June 2023, the NZDF has a strength of 14,996 employees, consisting of 8,669 regular force personnel, 3,260 reserve force personnel and 3,067 civilian members. It is supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MOD) and is commanded by the Chief of Defence Force (CDF).
The politics of Niue take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Chief Minister is the head of government, and of a non-partisan system. Niue is self-governing in free association with New Zealand and is fully responsible for internal affairs. New Zealand retains some responsibility for external affairs, in consultation with Niue. The Niue Constitution Act 1974 (NZ) vests executive authority in His Majesty the King in Right of New Zealand and the Governor-General of New Zealand. The constitution specifies that in everyday practice, it is exercised by a Cabinet of the Premier of Niue and three other ministers. The premier and ministers must be members of the Niue Assembly, the nation's legislative assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The prime minister of New Zealand is the head of government of New Zealand. The incumbent prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leader of the New Zealand National Party, took office on 27 November 2023.
The Ministry of Defence is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
A commander-in-chief or supreme commander is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed force or a military branch. As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state, head of government, or other designated government official.
The Secretary of State for Defence, also known as the Defence Secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The Cabinet of New Zealand is the New Zealand Government's body of senior ministers, accountable to the New Zealand Parliament. Cabinet meetings, chaired by the prime minister, occur once a week; in them, vital issues are discussed and government policy is formulated. Cabinet is also composed of a number of committees focused on specific areas of governance and policy. Though not established by any statute, Cabinet wields significant power within the New Zealand political system, with nearly all government bills it introduces in Parliament being enacted.
The monarchy of New Zealand is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch, King Charles III, acceded to the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on 8 September 2022 in the United Kingdom. The King's elder son, William, Prince of Wales, is the heir apparent.
Sir James Allen was a prominent New Zealand politician and diplomat. He held a number of the most important political offices in the country, including Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was also New Zealand's Minister of Defence during World War I.
Ministers in the New Zealand Government are members of Parliament (MPs) who hold ministerial warrants from the Crown to perform certain functions of government. This includes formulating and implementing policies and advising the governor-general. Ministers collectively make up the executive branch of the New Zealand state. The governor-general is obliged to follow the advice of the prime minister on the appointment and dismissal of ministers.
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) is a statutory office held by the professional head of the Indian Army (IA), the land forces branch of the Indian Armed Forces. Customarily held by a four-star general officer, the COAS is the senior-most operational officer of the IA, tasked with the roles of overseeing the overall functioning of the force during peace and wartime, committing to the preparation-cum-maintenance of the force's operational effectiveness and defending the nation's territorial integrity-cum-sovereignty. Also a permanent member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and the National Security Council (NSC), the COAS also bears the responsibility of advising the nation's civilian leadership i.e., the Government of India on all matters privy to the IA.
Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke was a Sri Lankan statesman. Having served as an important figure in the gradual independence of Ceylon from Britain, he became the third Governor-General of Ceylon (1954–1962). He was the first Ceylonese individual to hold the vice-regal post.
The governor-general of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the advice of his New Zealand prime minister, appoints a governor-general to carry out his constitutional and ceremonial duties within the Realm of New Zealand.
John Bryce was a New Zealand politician from 1871 to 1891 and Minister of Native Affairs from 1879 to 1884. In his attitudes to Māori land questions, he favoured strict legal actions against Māori opposed to alienation, and he personally directed the invasion of Parihaka and the arrest of the leaders of the movement.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the ceremonial commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the country. The Ministry of Defence provides policy framework and resources to the armed forces to discharge their responsibility in the context of the defence of the country. The Indian Armed Forces and Indian Coast Guard under the Ministry of Defence are primarily responsible for ensuring the territorial integrity of India.
The New Zealand Government is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifically to the collective ministry directing the executive. Based on the principle of responsible government, it operates within the framework that "the [King] reigns, but the government rules, so long as it has the support of the House of Representatives". The Cabinet Manual describes the main laws, rules and conventions affecting the conduct and operation of the Government.
Martyn John Dunne, is a retired New Zealand Army officer, a diplomat and senior public servant. He was the chief executive of the Ministry for Primary Industries. From 2011 until 2013 he was New Zealand High Commissioner to Australia based in Canberra. He was Comptroller of Customs and Chief Executive of the New Zealand Customs Service (2004–2011) after a career as soldier in the New Zealand Army from 1970 ending his military career in 2004 as Commander Joint Forces New Zealand with the rank of major general. In September 1999, Dunne led the New Zealand Force East Timor during New Zealand's largest deployment since World War II, and as the Senior National Officer and, with the rank of brigadier, commanded the Dili Command, an operational formation in the International Force East Timor, until 2000.
Georgios Katechakis was a Hellenic Army officer and politician. He distinguished himself with his participation in the Macedonian Struggle under the nom de guerre Kapetan Rouvas in 1904–1905. An ardent Venizelist, he participated in the Movement of National Defence. After his retirement from the army with the rank of Major General, he entered politics, being elected into the Greek Parliament and the Greek Senate. He also served three times as Minister for Military Affairs and as Governor-General for Thrace (1922–1923) and for Crete (1928–1930).
The Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) is an organisation responsible for fostering coordination and enabling prioritisation across the different branches of the Indian Armed Forces. It is composed of representatives from the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Ministry of External Affairs, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Finance. The IDS is headed by Chief of Integrated Defence Staff along with Deputy Chiefs of Integrated Defence Staff. On December 24, 2019, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) established the post of Chief of Defence Staff, a four-star general, a tri-service Chief, that shall lead the defence forces as well as play the role of head of the Department of Military Affairs. The body advises and assists the Chief of Defence Staff.