Minister of Health of New Zealand
Coat of arms of New Zealand
Flag of New Zealand
Incumbent Shane Reti since 27 November 2023
Ministry of Health
Style	The Honourable
Member of	Cabinet of New Zealand Executive Council
Reports to	Prime Minister of New Zealand
Appointer	Governor-General of New Zealand
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation	8 November 1900
First holder	Sir Joseph Ward
Salary	$288,900[1]
Website	www.beehive.govt.nz

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The Minister of Health, formerly styled Minister of Public Health, is a minister in the New Zealand Government with responsibility for the New Zealand Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora—Health New Zealand.

The current Minister of Health is National Party MP Shane Reti.^[2]

History

The first Minister of Public Health was appointed in 1900, during the premiership of Richard Seddon. The word "Public" was dropped from the title when Sir Māui Pōmare took over the portfolio from 27 June 1923, as simply "Minister of Health".

In the health system reforms of the 1980s, the Department of Health lost responsibility for both the provision and funding of healthcare – these roles were transferred to separate Crown Health Enterprises (the precursors to today's District Health Boards) and the Health Funding Authority, respectively. The only function remaining was policy-making (resulting in the department being renamed a Ministry). For a time, there was a separate Minister in Charge of Crown Health Enterprises, who was not necessarily the same as the Minister of Health. Further reforms have changed this, however – the Health Funding Authority has been re-absorbed into the Ministry of Health, and the modern District Health Boards, while not part of the Ministry, are considered a responsibility of the Minister of Health.

In July 2022, on the passing of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, District Health Boards were disestablished and the provision and funding of healthcare was centralised under Health New Zealand.

List of Health Ministers

Key

  Liberal   Reform   United   Labour   National

No.		Name	Portrait	Term of Office		Prime Minister
	1	Joseph Ward		8 November 1900	6 August 1906		Seddon
							Hall-Jones
	2	George Fowlds		6 August 1906	6 January 1909		Ward
	3	David Buddo		6 January 1909	28 March 1912
	4	George Warren Russell		28 March 1912	10 July 1912		Mackenzie
	5	Heaton Rhodes		10 July 1912	12 August 1915		Massey
	(4)	George Warren Russell		12 August 1915	25 August 1919
	6	Francis Bell		4 September 1919	3 April 1920
	7	James Parr		3 April 1920	7 June 1923
	8	Maui Pomare		7 June 1923	18 January 1926
							Bell
							Coates
	9	Alexander Young		18 January 1926	10 December 1928
	10	Arthur Stallworthy		10 December 1928	22 September 1931		Ward
							Forbes
	(9)	Alexander Young		22 September 1931	6 December 1935
	11	Peter Fraser		6 December 1935	30 April 1940		Savage
							Fraser
	12	Tim Armstrong		30 April 1940	21 January 1941
	13	Arnold Nordmeyer		21 January 1941	29 May 1947
	14	Mabel Howard		29 May 1947	13 December 1949
	15	Jack Watts		13 December 1949	19 September 1951		Holland
	16	Jack Marshall		19 September 1951	26 November 1954
	17	Ralph Hanan		26 November 1954	12 December 1957
							Holyoake
	18	Rex Mason		12 December 1957	12 December 1960		Nash
	19	Norman Shelton		12 December 1960	24 January 1962		Holyoake
	20	Don McKay		24 January 1962	9 February 1972
	21	Lance Adams-Schneider		9 February 1972	8 December 1972		Marshall
	22	Bob Tizard		8 December 1972	10 September 1974		Kirk
	23	Tom McGuigan		10 September 1974	12 December 1975		Rowling
	24	Frank Gill		12 December 1975	13 December 1978		Muldoon
	25	George Gair		13 December 1978	11 December 1981
	26	Aussie Malcolm		11 December 1981	26 July 1984
	27	Michael Bassett		26 July 1984	24 August 1987		Lange
	28	David Caygill		24 August 1987	30 January 1989
	29	Helen Clark		30 January 1989	2 November 1990
							Palmer
							Moore
	30	Simon Upton		2 November 1990	27 March 1993		Bolger
	31	Bill Birch		27 March 1993	29 November 1993
	32	Jenny Shipley		29 November 1993	16 December 1996
	33	Bill English		16 December 1996	2 February 1999
							Shipley
	34	Wyatt Creech		2 February 1999	10 December 1999
	35	Annette King		10 December 1999	19 October 2005		Clark
	36	Pete Hodgson		19 October 2005	5 November 2007
	37	David Cunliffe		5 November 2007	19 November 2008
	38	Tony Ryall		19 November 2008	6 October 2014		Key
	39	Jonathan Coleman		6 October 2014	26 October 2017
							English
	40	David Clark		26 October 2017	2 July 2020[3]		Ardern
	41	Chris Hipkins		2 July 2020	6 November 2020
	42	Andrew Little		6 November 2020	1 February 2023
							Hipkins
	43	Ayesha Verrall		1 February 2023	27 November 2023
	44	Shane Reti		27 November 2023	Present		Luxon