Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand leader of a junior party. This occurred with Winston Peters, leader of New Zealand First, and Jim Anderton, leader of the Alliance. The post of deputy prime minister was formally established in 1954. Eighteen individuals have held the position (two of them doing so twice). Of those people, only Holyoake, Marshall, Watt, Muldoon, Palmer, Clark and English have eventually served as Prime Minister. The duties of the deputy prime minister are to act on behalf of the prime minister in his or her absence overseas or on leave. The deputy prime minister has always been a member of the Cabinet,
Helen Clark of Labour and Deputy Prime Minister in August 1989. As Health Minister, Clark introduced a series of legislative changes that allowed midwives to practice autonomously. She also introduced the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990, a law which restricted smoking in places such as workplaces and schools. As Deputy Prime Minister, Clark chaired the Cabinet Social Equity Committee, and was a member of several other important Cabinet committees, such as the Policy Committee, Economic Development and Employment Committee, and Domestic and External Security Committee. From October 1990 until December 1993 Clark held the posts of Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow spokesperson