Living prime ministers of New Zealand

This is a chronological list of all the living people who have served as prime minister of New Zealand at each moment in New Zealand history.[1] In 2016, Radio New Zealand published a podcast series of interviews of all five of the former prime ministers,[2] although before the series was completed, the sitting Prime Minister resigned, becoming the 6th former prime minister, but he declined to participate in the series.[3] In 2017, four of the then-six former PMs spoke jointly about increasing refugee immigration to New Zealand.[4]

There have been four time periods when there was only one living prime minister, first with the appointment of Henry Sewell in 1856 and most recently during the second term of Keith Holyoake following the 1968 death of Walter Nash.

There have been two time periods when 12 living current or former prime ministers co-existed, with the longest being a three-year period beginning with the first appointment of Robert Stout in 1884. The most recent period was from the January 1891 appointment of John Ballance to the July 1891 death of Frederick Weld.

If one includes future prime ministers as well as past and current officeholders, there has been only one time period when 24 different prime ministers co-existed (see § Statistics).

List

Living as of 8 August 2020

Prime Minister	Date of birth	Tenure
Jim Bolger	(1935-05-31) 31 May 1935	1990–1997
Geoffrey Palmer	(1942-04-21) 21 April 1942	1989–1990
Helen Clark	(1950-02-26) 26 February 1950	1999–2008
Jenny Shipley	(1952-02-04) 4 February 1952	1997–1999
John Key	(1961-08-09) 9 August 1961	2008–2016
Bill English	(1961-12-30) 30 December 1961	2016–2017
Jacinda Ardern	(1980-07-26) 26 July 1980	2017–present

Timeline of living prime ministers

Number of prime ministers alive at each moment in New Zealand history[5]

Start date	End date	Start event	Duration	End event	Living prime ministers
7 May 1856	20 May 1856	Appointment of Henry Sewell	13 days	Appointment of William Fox	1	Henry Sewell
20 May 1856	2 June 1856	Appointment of William Fox	13 days	Appointment of Edward Stafford	2	Henry Sewell William Fox
2 June 1856	6 August 1862	Appointment of Edward Stafford	6 years, 65 days	Appointment of Alfred Domett	3	Henry Sewell William Fox Edward Stafford
6 August 1862	30 October 1863	Appointment of Alfred Domett	1 year, 85 days	Appointment of Frederick Whitaker	4	Henry Sewell William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett
30 October 1863	24 November 1864	Appointment of Frederick Whitaker	1 year, 25 days	Appointment of Frederick Weld	5	Henry Sewell William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker
24 November 1864	11 October 1872	Appointment of Frederick Weld	7 years, 322 days	Appointment of George Waterhouse	6	Henry Sewell William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld
11 October 1872	8 April 1873	Appointment of George Waterhouse	179 days	Appointment of Julius Vogel	7	Henry Sewell William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse
8 April 1873	6 July 1875	Appointment of Julius Vogel	2 years, 89 days	Appointment of Daniel Pollen	8	Henry Sewell William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse Julius Vogel
6 July 1875	1 September 1876	Appointment of Daniel Pollen	1 year, 57 days	Appointment of Harry Atkinson	9	Henry Sewell William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen
1 September 1876	13 October 1877	Appointment of Harry Atkinson	1 year, 42 days	Appointment of George Grey	10	Henry Sewell William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen Harry Atkinson
13 October 1877	14 May 1879	Appointment of George Grey	1 year, 213 days	Death of Henry Sewell	11	Henry Sewell William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen Harry Atkinson George Grey
14 May 1879	8 October 1879	Death of Henry Sewell	147 days	Appointment of John Hall	10	William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen Harry Atkinson George Grey
8 October 1879	16 August 1884	Appointment of John Hall	4 years, 313 days	Appointment of Robert Stout	11	William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen Harry Atkinson George Grey John Hall
16 August 1884	2 November 1887	Appointment of Robert Stout	3 years, 78 days	Death of Alfred Domett	12	William Fox Edward Stafford Alfred Domett Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen Harry Atkinson George Grey John Hall Robert Stout
2 November 1887	24 January 1891	Death of Alfred Domett	3 years, 83 days	Appointment of John Ballance	11	William Fox Edward Stafford Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen Harry Atkinson George Grey John Hall Robert Stout
24 January 1891	20 July 1891	Appointment of John Ballance	177 days	Death of Frederick Weld	12	William Fox Edward Stafford Frederick Whitaker Frederick Weld George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen Harry Atkinson George Grey John Hall Robert Stout John Ballance
20 July 1891	4 December 1891	Death of Frederick Weld	137 days	Death of Frederick Whitaker	11	William Fox Edward Stafford Frederick Whitaker George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen Harry Atkinson George Grey John Hall Robert Stout John Ballance
4 December 1891	28 June 1892	Death of Frederick Whitaker	207 days	Death of Harry Atkinson	10	William Fox Edward Stafford George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen Harry Atkinson George Grey John Hall Robert Stout John Ballance
28 June 1892	27 April 1893	Death of Harry Atkinson	303 days	Death of John Ballance	9	William Fox Edward Stafford George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen George Grey John Hall Robert Stout John Ballance
27 April 1893	23 June 1893	Appointment of Richard Seddon	57 days	Death of William Fox	9	William Fox Edward Stafford George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen George Grey John Hall Robert Stout Richard Seddon
23 June 1893	18 May 1896	Death of William Fox	2 years, 330 days	Death of Daniel Pollen	8	Edward Stafford George Waterhouse Julius Vogel Daniel Pollen George Grey John Hall Robert Stout Richard Seddon
18 May 1896	19 September 1898	Death of Daniel Pollen	2 years, 124 days	Death of George Grey	7	Edward Stafford George Waterhouse Julius Vogel George Grey John Hall Robert Stout Richard Seddon
19 September 1898	12 March 1899	Death of George Grey	174 days	Death of Julius Vogel	6	Edward Stafford George Waterhouse Julius Vogel John Hall Robert Stout Richard Seddon
12 March 1899	14 February 1901	Death of Julius Vogel	1 year, 339 days	Death of Edward Stafford	5	Edward Stafford George Waterhouse John Hall Robert Stout Richard Seddon
14 February 1901	10 June 1906	Death of Edward Stafford	5 years, 116 days	Death of Richard Seddon	4	George Waterhouse John Hall Robert Stout Richard Seddon
10 June 1906	6 August 1906	Appointment of William Hall-Jones	57 days	Appointment of Joseph Ward	4	George Waterhouse John Hall Robert Stout William Hall-Jones
6 August 1906	6 August 1906	Appointment of Joseph Ward	0 days	Death of George Waterhouse	5	George Waterhouse John Hall Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Joseph Ward
6 August 1906	25 June 1907	Death of George Waterhouse	323 days	Death of John Hall	4	John Hall Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Joseph Ward
25 June 1907	28 March 1912	Death of John Hall	4 years, 277 days	Appointment of Thomas Mackenzie	3	Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Joseph Ward
28 March 1912	10 July 1912	Appointment of Thomas Mackenzie	104 days	Appointment of William Massey	4	Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Joseph Ward Thomas Mackenzie
10 July 1912	10 May 1925	Appointment of William Massey	12 years, 304 days	Death of William Massey	5	Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Joseph Ward Thomas Mackenzie William Massey
10 May 1925	30 May 1925	Appointment of Francis Bell	20 days	Appointment of Gordon Coates	5	Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Joseph Ward Thomas Mackenzie Francis Bell
30 May 1925	14 February 1930	Appointment of Gordon Coates	4 years, 260 days	Death of Thomas Mackenzie	6	Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Joseph Ward Thomas Mackenzie Francis Bell Gordon Coates
14 February 1930	28 May 1930	Death of Thomas Mackenzie	103 days	Appointment of George Forbes	5	Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Joseph Ward Francis Bell Gordon Coates
28 May 1930	8 July 1930	Appointment of George Forbes	41 days	Death of Joseph Ward	6	Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Joseph Ward Francis Bell Gordon Coates George Forbes
8 July 1930	19 July 1930	Death of Joseph Ward	11 days	Death of Robert Stout	5	Robert Stout William Hall-Jones Francis Bell Gordon Coates George Forbes
19 July 1930	6 December 1935	Death of Robert Stout	5 years, 140 days	Appointment of Michael Joseph Savage	4	William Hall-Jones Francis Bell Gordon Coates George Forbes
6 December 1935	13 March 1936	Appointment of Michael Joseph Savage	98 days	Death of Francis Bell	5	William Hall-Jones Francis Bell Gordon Coates George Forbes Michael Joseph Savage
13 March 1936	19 June 1936	Death of Francis Bell	98 days	Death of William Hall-Jones	4	William Hall-Jones Gordon Coates George Forbes Michael Joseph Savage
19 June 1936	27 March 1940	Death of William Hall-Jones	3 years, 282 days	Death of Michael Joseph Savage	3	Gordon Coates George Forbes Michael Joseph Savage
27 March 1940	27 May 1943	Appointment of Peter Fraser	3 years, 61 days	Death of Gordon Coates	3	Gordon Coates George Forbes Peter Fraser
27 May 1943	17 May 1947	Death of Gordon Coates	3 years, 355 days	Death of George Forbes	2	George Forbes Peter Fraser
17 May 1947	13 December 1949	Death of George Forbes	2 years, 210 days	Appointment of Sidney Holland	1	Peter Fraser
12 December 1949	12 December 1950	Appointment of Sidney Holland	364 days	Death of Peter Fraser	2	Peter Fraser Sidney Holland
12 December 1950	20 September 1957	Death of Peter Fraser	6 years, 282 days	Appointment of Keith Holyoake	1	Sidney Holland
20 September 1957	12 December 1957	Appointment of Keith Holyoake	83 days	Appointment of Walter Nash	2	Sidney Holland Keith Holyoake
12 December 1957	5 August 1961	Appointment of Walter Nash	3 years, 236 days	Death of Sidney Holland	3	Sidney Holland Keith Holyoake Walter Nash
5 August 1961	4 June 1968	Death of Sidney Holland	6 years, 304 days	Death of Walter Nash	2	Keith Holyoake Walter Nash
4 June 1968	7 February 1972	Death of Walter Nash	3 years, 248 days	Appointment of Jack Marshall	1	Keith Holyoake
7 February 1972	8 December 1972	Appointment of Jack Marshall	305 days	Appointment of Norman Kirk	2	Keith Holyoake Jack Marshall
8 December 1972	31 August 1974	Appointment of Norman Kirk	1 year, 266 days	Death of Norman Kirk	3	Keith Holyoake Jack Marshall Norman Kirk
6 September 1974	12 December 1975	Appointment of Bill Rowling	1 year, 97 days	Appointment of Robert Muldoon	3	Keith Holyoake Jack Marshall Bill Rowling
12 December 1975	8 December 1983	Appointment of Robert Muldoon	7 years, 361 days	Death of Keith Holyoake	4	Keith Holyoake Jack Marshall Bill Rowling Robert Muldoon
8 December 1983	26 July 1984	Death of Keith Holyoake	231 days	Appointment of David Lange	3	Jack Marshall Bill Rowling Robert Muldoon
26 July 1984	30 August 1988	Appointment of David Lange	4 years, 35 days	Death of Jack Marshall	4	Jack Marshall Bill Rowling Robert Muldoon David Lange
30 August 1988	8 August 1989	Death of Jack Marshall	343 days	Appointment of Geoffrey Palmer	3	Bill Rowling Robert Muldoon David Lange
8 August 1989	4 September 1990	Appointment of Geoffrey Palmer	1 year, 27 days	Appointment of Mike Moore	4	Bill Rowling Robert Muldoon David Lange Geoffrey Palmer
4 September 1990	2 November 1990	Appointment of Mike Moore	59 days	Appointment of Jim Bolger	5	Bill Rowling Robert Muldoon David Lange Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore
2 November 1990	5 August 1992	Appointment of Jim Bolger	1 year, 277 days	Death of Robert Muldoon	6	Bill Rowling Robert Muldoon David Lange Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore Jim Bolger
5 August 1992	31 October 1995	Death of Robert Muldoon	3 years, 87 days	Death of Bill Rowling	5	Bill Rowling David Lange Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore Jim Bolger
31 October 1995	8 December 1997	Death of Bill Rowling	2 years, 38 days	Appointment of Jenny Shipley	4	David Lange Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore Jim Bolger
8 December 1997	10 December 1999	Appointment of Jenny Shipley	1 year, 362 days	Appointment of Helen Clark	5	David Lange Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley
10 December 1999	13 August 2005	Appointment of Helen Clark	5 years, 251 days	Death of David Lange	6	David Lange Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley Helen Clark
13 August 2005	19 November 2008	Death of David Lange	3 years, 98 days	Appointment of John Key	5	Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley Helen Clark
19 November 2008	12 December 2016	Appointment of John Key	8 years, 23 days	Appointment of Bill English	6	Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley Helen Clark John Key
12 December 2016	26 October 2017	Appointment of Bill English	318 days	Appointment of Jacinda Ardern	7	Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley Helen Clark John Key Bill English
26 October 2017	2 February 2020	Appointment of Jacinda Ardern	2 years, 99 days	Death of Mike Moore	8	Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley Helen Clark John Key Bill English Jacinda Ardern
2 February 2020	present	Death of Mike Moore	188 days	present	7	Geoffrey Palmer Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley Helen Clark John Key Bill English Jacinda Ardern

Statistics

• There have been four men who have been the only living Prime Minister: Henry Sewell (as the first, from 7 May 1856 to 20 May 1856), Peter Fraser (from Forbes' death on 17 May 1947 to 13 December 1949), Sidney Holland (from Fraser's death on 12 December 1950 to 20 September 1957) and Keith Holyoake (from Nash's death on 4 June 1968 to 7 February 1972).
• During two periods in the History of New Zealand, have there been 12 persons alive to have been Prime Minister. The first such period was from 16 August 1884 to 2 November 1887 (when William Fox, Edward Stafford, Alfred Domett, Frederick Whitaker, Frederick Weld, George Waterhouse, Julius Vogel, Daniel Pollen, Harry Atkinson, George Grey, John Hall, and Robert Stout were alive. The second and most recent period was from 24 January 1891 to 20 July 1891 (when William Fox, Edward Stafford, Frederick Whitaker, Frederick Weld, George Waterhouse, Julius Vogel, Daniel Pollen, Harry Atkinson, George Grey, John Hall, Robert Stout, and John Ballance were alive). The earliest of these periods consisted of each Prime Minister appointed consecutively. The longest period where there have been 12 living prime ministers was 3 years and 78 days, ending with the death of Alfred Domett in November 1887.
• Henry Sewell was the only person to be both an only living Prime Minister (from 7 May 1856 to 20 May 1856) and one of five or more living prime ministers (from 30 October 1863 to 14 May 1879).
• There have been 23 administrations during which a Prime Minister has not died, the most recent being the administration of Bill English. This does not include the administrations of William Massey and Norman Kirk (who were themselves the only prime ministers to die during their administrations).
  • Conversely, only during the administration of Richard Seddon has there been as many as five deaths during an administration (Seddon in addition died in office in 1906). Only twice (during the administrations of John Ballance and Joseph Ward) has there been as many as three deaths during an administration (This does not include the administration of Michael Joseph Savage, whose own death was the third during his term).
• Although William Massey died in office in 1925, he holds the distinction of serving for the longest period without the death of a former Prime Minister during his term (12 years and 303 days). Edward Stafford who served for a total period of 8 years and 326 days holds the distinction of serving for the longest period during which no Prime Ministers died without dying in office himself. In recent years, the Prime Minister who served the longest without a death in his term was John Key, who served for 8 years and 23 days.
• The longest period between deaths of Prime Ministers was the 17 years and 319 days between the deaths of John Hall on 25 June 1907 and William Massey on 10 May 1925. The shortest was the 11 days between the deaths of Joseph Ward on 8 July 1930 and Robert Stout on 19 July 1930.
  • If the longest period between deaths is to be exceeded, no Prime Minister must die before 17 December 2037 (the current oldest and second oldest surviving prime ministers, Jim Bolger and Geoffrey Palmer, would then be 102 and 95 years old respectively).
  • The second longest period is the 14 years, 173 days between the death of David Lange on 13 August 2005 and the death of Mike Moore on 2 February 2020.
• Only five times (in 1891, 1893, 1906, 1930, and 1936) have multiple Prime Ministers died in the same year.
• Following his administration's end in 1863, Alfred Domett lived to see a record 19 administrations prior to his death in November 1887. George Waterhouse follows with 17 administrations after his own administration ended in 1873, prior to his death in August 1906. In modern times, the Prime Minister to have lived to see the most administrations following their own was Geoffrey Palmer, with seven so far following the end of his administration in 1990.
• If one includes future as well as past and current prime ministers, the record sits at 24:
  • Between Peter Fraser's birth on 28 August 1884 and Alfred Domett's death on 2 November 1887, the following prime ministers were alive: William Fox, Edward Stafford, Alfred Domett, Frederick Whitaker, Frederick Weld, George Waterhouse, Julius Vogel, Daniel Pollen, Harry Atkinson, George Grey, John Hall, Robert Stout, John Ballance, Richard Seddon, William Hall-Jones, Joseph Ward, Thomas Mackenzie, William Massey, Francis Bell, Gordon Coates, George Forbes, Michael Joseph Savage, Peter Fraser, and Walter Nash.
• Since the appointment of Norman Kirk on 8 December 1972 (a period of 47 years, 244 days), there have been at least three Prime Ministers living.

See also

• List of prime ministers of New Zealand by age
• List of prime ministers of New Zealand by date of birth
• List of prime ministers of New Zealand by place of birth

References

1. Davidson, Isaac (29 September 2017). "Former MPs and their perks – salary, free travel and taxpayer-funded cars". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
2. "The 9th Floor: Sir Geoffrey Palmer". National Business Review. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
3. Espiner, Guyon; Watkin, Tim (2017). The 9th Floor: Conversations with five New Zealand Prime Ministers. Bridget Williams Books. p. viii. ISBN 978-1988533223.
4. Barnett, Tracey (31 July 2017). "The issue that four ex-prime ministers agree on". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
5. Appointment dates are available at https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/premiers-and-prime-ministers; death dates in the individual biographies linked from that page.