The minister of disarmament and arms control was a minister in the government of New Zealand.
History and responsibilities The portfolio was established after the declaration of the New Zealand nuclear-free zone and passage of the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 (the Act) on 8 June 1987. As of 2020, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade believed that New Zealand was the only country to have a standalone disarmament portfolio. A briefing to the minister from that year stated that the purpose of the portfolio was to "provide leadership of New Zealand’s efforts to achieve progress on disarmament and non-proliferation, both in support of the global public good that these entail and as an important contribution to [New Zealand's] national interest."
Under the Act, the Minister is the chair of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control. They led the New Zealand Government's engagement on the New Agenda Coalition and the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament.
The portfolio was disestablished in 2011 following the report of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control. Responsibilities of the minister were incorporated into the foreign affairs portfolio. A separate disarmament and arms control portfolio was re-established in 2018 but no further appointment was made after the 2023 general election.
From 2023, in lieu of the separate ministerial portfolio, government functions related to disarmament and arms control were delegated to the Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Todd McClay.
List of ministers The following ministers have held the office of Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control.
Key
No. Name Portrait Term of office Prime Minister 1 Russell Marshall 8 June 1987 24 August 1989 Lange Palmer 2 Fran Wilde 24 August 1989 2 November 1990 Moore 3 Doug Graham 2 November 1990 16 December 1996 Bolger 4 Don McKinnon 16 December 1996 10 December 1999 Shipley 5 Matt Robson 10 December 1999 15 August 2002Clark 6 Marian Hobbs 15 August 2002 12 October 2005 7 Phil Goff 12 October 2005 19 November 2008 8 Georgina te Heuheu 19 November 2008 14 December 2011 KeyOffice not in use 9 Winston Peters 2 May 2018 6 November 2020Ardern10Phil Twyford6 November 20201 February 2023Hipkins 11 Nanaia Mahuta 1 February 2023 11 November 2023 12 Grant Robertson 11 November 2023 27 November 2023
See also Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand) Arms control Nuclear disarmament
Notes
References
External links New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade