The Minister for Veterans is a minister in the New Zealand Government responsible for issues relating to veterans, including the Veteran's Pension, and supporting attendance by veterans at commemorative events.
History The position of Minister in charge of War Pensions was created during the First World War, with the earliest reference to that role in Hansard dated at June 1916 although it is unknown exactly when the first appointment was made. The earliest known holder was James Allen, then the Minister of Defence. Most subsequent war pensions ministers were also concurrently appointed as defence minister; the only exceptions were Arthur Kinsella, Michael Cullen, Roger Sowry and Don McKinnon.
The portfolio was renamed Minister of Veterans' Affairs on 1 September 1999. This followed the passage of the Veterans' Affairs Act 1999, which transferred responsibility for war pensions to the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand is a semi-autonomous unit within NZDF which provides administrative support to the Minister. The portfolio title was changed again to Minister for Veterans on 26 October 2017.
List of ministers The following ministers held the office of Minister for Veterans.
Key
+No.NamePortraitTerm of OfficePrime Minister 1 James Allen June 1916 28 April 1920 Massey 2 Heaton Rhodes 21 July 1920 18 January 1926 BellCoates 3 Frank Rolleston 18 January 1926 26 November 1928 4 William Downie Stewart Jr 28 November 1928 10 December 1928 5 Thomas Wilford 10 December 1928 10 December 1929Ward 6 John Cobbe 10 December 1929 6 December 1935 Forbes 7Fred Jones6 December 193513 December 1949SavageFraser8Tom Macdonald13 December 194926 September 1957Holland9Dean Eyre26 September 195712 December 1957Holyoake10Phil Connolly12 December 195712 December 1960Nash11Arthur Kinsella12 December 196012 December 1966Holyoake12David Thomson12 December 19669 February 197213Allan McCready9 February 19728 December 1972Marshall14Arthur Faulkner8 December 197210 September 1974Kirk15Bill Fraser10 September 197412 December 1975Rowling(13)Allan McCready12 December 197513 December 1978Muldoon14Frank Gill13 December 197821 August 1980(12)David Thomson28 August 198026 July 198415Frank O'Flynn26 July 198424 July 1987Lange16Michael Cullen24 July 19872 November 1990Palmer Moore17Warren Cooper2 November 19901 March 1996Bolger18Paul East1 March 19965 December 199719Roger Sowry5 December 199731 August 1998 Shipley20Don McKinnon31 August 199810 December 199921Mark Burton10 December 199915 August 2002Clark22George Hawkins15 August 200219 October 200523Rick Barker19 October 200519 November 200824Judith Collins19 November 200814 December 2011Key25Nathan Guy14 December 201131 January 201326Michael Woodhouse31 January 20138 October 201427Craig Foss8 October 201420 December 201628David Bennett20 December 201626 October 2017 English29Ron Mark26 October 20176 November 2020Ardern30Meka Whaitiri6 November 20203 May 2023Hipkins31Peeni Henare10 May 202327 November 202332Chris Penk27 November 202313 August 2026Luxon33Paul Goldsmith13 August 2026Incumbent
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