New Zealand order of precedence

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The Order of precedence in New Zealand is a guide to the relative seniority of constitutional office holders and certain others, to be followed, as appropriate at State and official functions. The previous order of precedence (approved^[1] and amended^[2]) is revoked and Her Majesty The Queen approved the following Order of Precedence in New Zealand effective 20 September 2018:

1. The Queen of New Zealand.^[3][4]
   • Her Majesty Elizabeth II
2. The Governor-General or, while acting in the place of the Governor-General, the officer administering the Government^[5]
   • Her Excellency The Rt Hon. Dame Cindy Kiro GNZM QSO DStJ (21 October 2021)
3. The Prime Minister.
   • The Rt Hon. Jacinda Ardern MP
4. The Speaker of the House of Representatives
   • The Rt Hon. Trevor Mallard MP
5. The Chief Justice
   • The Rt Hon. Dame Helen Winkelmann GNZM
6. The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps
   • His Excellency Leasi Papali'i Tommy Scanlan of Samoa (12 January 2017)^[6]
7. The Deputy Prime Minister
   • The Hon. Grant Robertson MP
8. Ministers of the Crown (ordered by ministerial rank; list as of 6 November 2020)^[7][8]
   • The Hon. Kelvin Davis MP
   • The Hon. Dr Megan Woods MP
   • The Hon. Chris Hipkins MP
   • The Hon. Carmel Sepuloni MP
   • The Hon. Andrew Little MP
   • The Hon. David Parker MP
   • The Hon. Nanaia Mahuta MP
   • The Hon. Poto Williams MP
   • The Hon. Damien O'Connor MP
   • The Hon. Stuart Nash MP
   • The Hon. Kris Faafoi MP
   • The Hon. Peeni Henare MP
   • The Hon. Willie Jackson MP
   • The Hon. Jan Tinetti MP
   • The Hon. Michael Wood MP
   • The Hon. Kiri Allan MP
   • The Hon. Dr David Clark MP
   • The Hon. Dr Ayesha Verrall MP
   • Ministers Outside of Cabinet
     • The Hon. Aupito William Sio MP
     • The Hon. Meka Whaitiri MP
     • The Hon. Phil Twyford MP
     • The Hon. Priyanca Radhakrishnan MP
   • Support Party Ministers
     • The Hon. Marama Davidson MP
     • The Hon. James Shaw MP
9. Former Governors-General
   • The Rt Hon. Sir Michael Hardie Boys GNZM GCMG QSO KStJ 1996–2001
   • The Hon. Dame Silvia Cartwright PCNZM DBE QSO DStJ 2001–2006
   • The Rt Hon. Sir Anand Satyanand GNZM QSO KStJ 2006–2011
   • The Rt Hon. Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM QSO KStJ 2011–2016
   • The Rt Hon. Dame Patsy Reddy GNZM CVO QSO DStJ 2016–2021
10. Ambassadors and High Commissioners in New Zealand and Chargés d’Affaires accredited to New Zealand.^[9]
11. The Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives
    • Christopher Luxon MP
12. Leaders, including co-leaders and joint leaders, of political parties represented in the House of Representatives, other than Ministers of the Crown.
    • David Seymour MP – Leader, ACT New Zealand (4 October 2014)
    • Debbie Ngarewa-Packer MP – Co-leader, Māori Party
    • Rawiri Waititi MP – Co-leader, Māori Party
13. Members of the House of Representatives. There is no established order of precedence over members of parliament in general, although each party has its internal ranking.
14. Judges of the Supreme Court of New Zealand,^[10] the Court of Appeal^[11] and the High Court of New Zealand.^[12][13]
15. Former Prime Ministers, former Speakers of the House of Representatives, former Chief Justices, and members of the Privy Council.

    Until 1999 it was traditional for the Prime Minister, senior and long-serving Ministers of the Crown, the Chief Justice and Judges of the Court of Appeal to be appointed to the Privy Council. No appointments were made from 2000, and in 2010 steps were taken to discontinue such appointments.^[14]

    • Former Prime Ministers
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Geoffrey Palmer KCMG AC QC (8 August 1989 – 4 September 1990)
      • The Rt Hon. Jim Bolger ONZ (2 November 1990 – 8 December 1997)
      • The Rt Hon. Dame Jenny Shipley DNZM (8 December 1997 – 10 December 1999)
      • The Rt Hon. Helen Clark ONZ SSI (10 December 1999 – 19 November 2008)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir John Key GNZM AC (19 November 2008 – 12 December 2016)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Bill English KNZM (12 December 2016 – 26 October 2017)
    • Former Speakers of the House of Representatives
      • The Hon. Sir Kerry Burke (16 September 1987 – 28 November 1990)
      • The Hon. Sir Robin Gray (28 November 1990 – 21 December 1993)
      • The Hon. Sir Doug Kidd KNZM (12 December 1996 – 20 December 1999)
      • The Rt Hon. Jonathan Hunt ONZ (20 December 1999 – 3 March 2005)
      • The Hon. Margaret Wilson DCNZM (3 March 2005 – 8 December 2008)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Lockwood Smith KNZM (8 December 2008 – 31 January 2013)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir David Carter KNZM (31 January 2013 – 7 November 2017)
    • Former Chief Justices
      • The Rt Hon. Dame Sian Elias GNZM QC (17 May 1999 – 13 March 2019)
    • Members of the Privy Council
      • The Rt Hon. Jonathan Hunt ONZ (1 November 1989) (former Speaker of the House of Representatives, see above)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Michael Hardie Boys (1 November 1989) (former Governor-General, see above)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Don McKinnon ONZ GCVO (8 April 1992)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Bill Birch GNZM (8 April 1992)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir John Henry KNZM QC (19 November 1996)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Ted Thomas KNZM QC (19 November 1996)
      • The Rt Hon. Winston Peters (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Doug Graham KNZM (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Paul East CNZM QC (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Kenneth Keith ONZ KBE QC (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Peter Blanchard KNZM (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Sir Andrew Tipping KNZM (21 May 1998)
      • The Rt Hon. Wyatt Creech CNZM (24 November 1999)
      • The Rt Hon. Dame Sian Elias (24 November 1999) (Former Chief Justice, see above)
      • The Rt Hon. Simon Upton (14 December 1999)
16. Mayors of territorial authorities and chairpersons of regional councils, while in their own cities, districts and regions. In 1989, boroughs and counties were amalgamated into district councils. District mayors, and the Chatham Islands mayor could expect to be accorded this same precedence.
17. The Public Service Commissioner, Chief of Defence Force, Commissioner of Police, and Officers of Parliament (The Controller and Auditor-General, Chief Ombudsman, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment).
    • The Public Service Commissioner – Peter Hughes CNZM (4 July 2016)^[15]
    • Chief of Defence Force – Air Vice Marshal Kevin Short (1 July 2018)
    • Commissioner of Police – Andrew Coster (3 April 2020)^[16]
    • Officers of Parliament
      • Controller and Auditor-General – John Ryan (2 July 2018)^[17]
      • Chief Ombudsman – (10 December 2015)^[18]
      • The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment – Rt Hon. Simon Upton (16 October 2017) (Member of the Privy Council, see above)
18. The Solicitor-General, Clerk of the House of Representatives, and Clerk of the Executive Council when attending a function involving the exercise of the position’s specific responsibilities.
    • The Solicitor-General – Una Jagose QC (16 February 2016)^[19]
    • The Clerk of the Parliament of New Zealand – David Wilson (6 July 2015)^[20]
    • The Clerk of the Executive Council – Michael Webster (18 March 2014)^[21]
19. Chief executives of public service and non-public service departments.^[22]
20. The Vice Chief of Defence Force, and Chiefs of Navy, Army and Air Force, and other statutory office holders.
    • Vice Chief of Defence Force Air Vice Marshal MNZM (10 September 2018)
    • Chief of Navy – Rear Admiral David Proctor (29 November 2018)
    • Chief of Army – Major General DSD (1 September 2018)
    • Chief of Air Force – Air Vice Marshal (10 September 2018)
21. Consuls-General and Consuls of countries without diplomatic representation in New Zealand.
22. Members of New Zealand and British orders, and holders of decorations and medals in accordance with the Order of Wear in New Zealand.^[23]

References[]