Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand living former New Zealand Deputy Prime Ministers, as seen below. The most recent Deputy Prime Minister to die was Jim Anderton (served 1999–2002), on 7 January 2018, aged 79. Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand () is the second-most senior minister in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power. The office was created as a ministerial portfolio in 1954. The officeholder usually deputises for the Prime Minister at official functions. The current Deputy Prime Minister is Winston Peters, the Leader of New Zealand First. Generally, the
Helen Clark ordered a military deployment to the 2006 East Timorese crisis alongside international partners. After three successive election victories, her government was defeated in the ; Clark resigned as Prime Minister and party leader on 19 November 2008. She was succeeded as Prime Minister by John Key of the National Party, and as Leader of the Labour Party by Phil Goff. Clark resigned from Parliament in April 2009 to become the first female head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "Forbes" magazine ranked her the 22nd most powerful woman in the world in 2016, down from 20th in 2006. In