List of chairpersons of district health boards


This is a list of chairpersons of district health boards in New Zealand. District health boards are organisations established by the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000, responsible for ensuring the provision of health and disability services to populations within a defined geographical area. They have existed since 1 January 2001, when the Act came into force, and there are currently 20 DHBs. Boards are partially appointed by the Minister of Health, and partially elected as part of the country's triennial local elections. The Minister of Health appoints the chairperson and deputy chair, and they are commonly chosen from the people appointed to the board but sometimes, these roles go to elected members. A total of 81 people have either served as DHB chairpersons or currently hold this role; this does not include commissioners or acting chairs.

Composition of district health boards

DHBs are partially elected and partially appointed. There are up to eleven members on a board. Seven of these members are elected as part of the New Zealand local elections. Up to four members are appointed by the Minister of Health and these appointments generally include the chair and deputy chair, but sometimes these positions are given to elected members. Appointments happen after the local elections and they give the minister an opportunity to fill skill gaps on the board, e.g. appoint individuals with expertise in finance or with experience in the governance of large organisations. People can apply to the ministry to be appointed.

Inaugural chairpersons

With the exception of four of the twenty-one district health boards, the previous Hospital and Health Service board chairs were appointed as the inaugural chair. The Health Minister for the first round of appointments was Annette King and by 21 December 2000, all chairperson appointments were confirmed:
DHBNameNotes
Auckland District Health Boardreplaced in December 2001
Bay of Plenty District Health Boardreplaced in December 2001
Canterbury District Health Boardnew chair
Capital and Coast District Health Board
Counties Manukau District Health Board
Hawke's Bay District Health Boardnew chair
Hutt Valley District Health Board
Lakes District Health Boardreplaced in December 2001
MidCentral District Health Boardconcurrently chair of Waikato
Nelson Marlborough District Health Board
Northland District Health Boardconcurrently chair of Tairāwhiti; retired in Nov 2001
Otago District Health Boardreplaced in December 2001
South Canterbury District Health Board
Southland District Health Boardreplaced in December 2001; became chair of West Coast
Tairāwhiti District Health Boardconcurrently chair of Northland
Taranaki District Health Boardnew chair
Waikato District Health Boardconcurrently chair of MidCentral
Wairarapa District Health Board
Waitemata District Health Boardreplaced in December 2001
Whanganui District Health Boardnew chair; replaced in December 2001
West Coast District Health Boardreplaced in December 2001

December 2001 appointments

Following the October 2001 local elections where seven board members were elected for each board, Health Minister King announced chairperson appointments on 12 November 2001. Twelve of the twenty-one chairs continued in their role. Two prior chairpersons were assigned to different boards. Of the remaining seven new chairs, five had prior tenure on a district health board, and two were new to DHBs. For three of the incumbents, it was signalled that they would be replaced within the coming term.
DHBNameNotes
Auckland District Health Boardnew chair; concurrently chair of Tairāwhiti; previously chaired Northland
Bay of Plenty District Health Boardnew chair
Canterbury District Health Boardcontinues in role
Capital and Coast District Health Boardcontinues in role
Counties Manukau District Health Boardcontinues in role
Hawke's Bay District Health Boardcontinues in role
Hutt Valley District Health Boardcontinues in role
Lakes District Health Boardnew chair
MidCentral District Health Boardcontinues in role; concurrently chair of Waikato
Nelson Marlborough District Health Boardcontinues in role
Northland District Health Boardnew chair
Otago District Health Boardnew chair
South Canterbury District Health Boardcontinues in role
Southland District Health Boardpreviously the deputy chair
Tairāwhiti District Health Boardcontinues in role for a further year to assist in transition; concurrently chair of Auckland
Taranaki District Health Boardcontinues in role
Waikato District Health Boardappointed for a further year to assist in transition
Wairarapa District Health Boardappointed for a further year to assist in transition but served until September 2006
Waitemata District Health Boardnew chair
West Coast District Health Boardnew chair; previously chaired Southland
Whanganui District Health Boardnew chair

Changes during 2001–2004 term

During the local government term, several changes occurred. Michael Ludbrook replaced Ian Wilson as chair of the Waikato DHB in June 2002. Wayne Brown was forced to resign as chair of the Tairāwhiti DHB. He had been appointed as chair for both Auckland and Tairāwhiti, but had also been elected onto the Tairāwhiti board. As an elected member, he was not permitted to also hold a position on another district health board. Rick Bettle left the West Coast DHB at the end of 2002 and after Dr Christine Robertson was acting chairperson for two months, King appointed Professor Gregor Coster as the new chair on 11 February 2003. Peter Glensor replaced Warren Young at the Hutt Valley DHB in June 2003. Gavin Doyle resigned from Whanganui DHB and was replaced by acting chair Patrick O'Connor.
DHBIncumbentDateReplacementNotes
Waikato DHBJune 2002Wilson's retirement had been foreshadowed
Tairāwhiti DHBAugust 2002forced resignation due to an administrative error by the Ministry of Health
West Coast DHB2002new chair from February 2003
Hutt Valley DHBJune 2003new chair from February 2003
Whanganui DHB?acting chair since Doyle's resignation

December 2004 appointments

Following the October 2004 local elections King changed only two of the incumbent chairpersons: new chairs were appointed for Nelson Marlborough DHB and for Counties Manukau DHB. Ross Keenan, who stepped down from being chair for Counties Manukau DHB, was appointed deputy chair for the three DHBs covering the Auckland region to achieve better collaboration.
DHBNameNotes
Auckland District Health Board
Bay of Plenty District Health Board
Canterbury District Health Boardconfirmed for one further year
Capital and Coast District Health Board
Counties Manukau District Health Boardnew chair
Hawke's Bay District Health Board
Hutt Valley District Health Boardchair since 2003
Lakes District Health Board
MidCentral District Health Board
Nelson Marlborough District Health Boardwas previously the deputy chair
Northland District Health Board
Otago District Health Board
South Canterbury District Health Board
Southland District Health Board
Tairāwhiti District Health Boardchair since 2002
Taranaki District Health Board
Waikato District Health Boardchair since June 2002
Wairarapa District Health Board
Waitemata District Health Board
West Coast District Health Boardchair since 2003
Whanganui District Health BoardO'Connor had been acting chair since Doyle's resignation; now confirmed as permanent chair

Changes during 2004–2007 term

During the local government term, several changes occurred. Alex Grooby, the chair of the Nelson Marlborough DHB, died in July 2005. Pete Hodgson took over as Health Minister from Annette King in October 2005. Hodgson appointed Suzanne Win as successor to Grooby in Nelson Marlborough, effective 1 January 2006. Hodgson appointed Bob Francis to take over as chairperson for Wairarapa DHB from Doug Matheson on 28 November 2006. Dr Judith Aitken replaced Bob Henare for Capital and Coast DHB on 24 December 2006. Dr Patrick O'Connor resigned as chairperson of Whanganui DHB on 1 May 2007 and was replaced by Kate Joblin on 3 May 2007.
DHBIncumbentDateReplacementNotes
Nelson Marlborough DHB1 January 2006Grooby had died in July 2005
Wairarapa DHB28 November 2006
Capital and Coast DHB24 December 2006Henare had been on sick leave since an operation
Whanganui DHB3 May 2007

December 2007 appointments

The 2007 local elections were held on 13 October. On 31 October 2007, David Cunliffe succeeded Hodgson as Minister of Health. Cunliffe released the list of board chairperson on 14 November 2007, where thirteen got reappointed, two moved to different boards, and four new chairpersons were appointed. Two decisions were left for later. On 14 December, Cunliffe announced businessman John Anderson as the new chairperson for the Capital and Coast DHB, who was to work alongside a Crown Monitor. The remaining decision was delayed until 27 February 2008 when Cunliffe sacked the entire board of the Hawke's Bay DHB, alleging that the board had become dysfunctional. Cunliffe appointed Capital and Coast DHB chair John Anderson as a commissioner for the Hawke's Bay DHB.
DHBNameNotes
Auckland District Health Boardmoved to Auckland from Counties Manukau after Brown retired
Bay of Plenty District Health Boardreappointed
Canterbury District Health Boardnew appointment as chair after he failed to get re-elected to the board
Capital and Coast District Health Boardappointed 14 December 2007; Crown Monitor also appointed that day
Counties Manukau District Health Boardmoved to Counties Manukau from West Coast
Hawke's Bay District Health Boardappointed 28 February 2008 as Commissioner; board dismissed
Hutt Valley District Health Boardreappointed
Lakes District Health Boardreappointed
MidCentral District Health Boardreappointed
Nelson Marlborough District Health Boardreappointed
Northland District Health Boardreappointed
Otago District Health Boardreappointed
South Canterbury District Health Boardreappointed
Southland District Health Boardreappointed
Tairāwhiti District Health Boardreappointed
Taranaki District Health Boardnew chair
Waikato District Health Boardnew chair
Wairarapa District Health Boardreappointed
Waitemata District Health Boardreappointed
West Coast District Health Boardnew chair
Whanganui District Health Boardreappointed

Changes during 2007–2010 term

During the local government term, several changes occurred. Cunliffe appointed two Crown Monitors to the Whanganui DHB, but left the chairperson in place.
With the 8 November 2008 general election, the Fifth National Government came into power and the role of Health Minister was assigned to Tony Ryall. On 5 December 2008, Southland DHB chair Dennis Cairns foreshadowed his resignation; he chaired his last board meeting on 30 January 2009. In December 2008, Ryall foreshadowed that the board of Hawke's Bay DHB elected in 2007 would be reinstated from February 2009, with the current commissioner John Anderson taking the chairmanship. In February 2009, Kay McKelvie's and Jerry Rickman's resignations as chairpersons of the Waitemata and Waikato DHBs were announced, respectively. Also in February, Ryall sacked the Otago DHB chairperson, Richard Thomson, over a $17 million fraud by staff members and replaced him with immediate effect with Errol Millar. In March 2009, Ryall appointed Paul Menzies as the new chairperson of Southland DHB. In May 2009, Ryall announced Graeme Milne as the new chairperson for Waikato DHB. Dr Lester Levy's appointment as the new chair for the Waitemata DHB was announced in June 2009.
There is a statutory limit of nine years for DHB chairpersons, as defined in the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000, and several chairs reached this limit at the end of 2009. This affected Northland chair Lynette Stewart, who was replaced by Tony Norman. For the South Canterbury DHB, Joe Butterfield was replaced by Murray Cleverley.
In February 2010, Ryall announced that the Otago and Southland District Health Boards would merge to form the Southern District Health Board, with a combined board of the elected members providing provisional oversight until the local elections in October 2010. The merger came into effect on 1 May 2010, with Errol Millar as chair and Paul Menzies as deputy chair. Taranaki DHB chair John Young died on 14 September 2010, a month prior to the next local body election.
DHBIncumbentDateReplacementNotes
Hawke's Bay DHBFebruary 2009Anderson's role changed from Commissioner to chairperson
Otago DHB17 February 2009Thomson got sacked with immediate effect and replaced by Millar
Southland DHBMarch 2009Cairns foreshadowed resignation in December 2008; replaced with Menzies in March 2009
Waikato DHBMay 2009Rickman resigned in February 2009; replaced with Milne in May 2009
Waitemata DHBJune 2009McKelvie resigned in February 2009; replaced with Levy in June 2009
Northland DHBJanuary 2010Stewart reached the statutory limit; replaced with Norman in January 2010
MidCentral DHBJanuary 2010Wilson reached the statutory limit; replaced with Sunderland in January 2010
South Canterbury DHBJanuary 2010Butterfield reached the statutory limit; replaced with Cleverley in January 2010
Southern DHBnew DHB1 May 2010Otago and Southland merger to form Southern DHB, with the Otago chair retained
Taranaki DHB14 September 2010vacantYoung died just prior to the next local election

December 2010 appointments

The 2010 local elections were held on 9 October. On 22 November 2010, Health Minister Ryall released the list of board chairpersons. Ten new chairpersons were announced and three people chaired two boards. It was the first time that a board was elected for the Southern DHB, which had been formed earlier in the year.
DHBNameNotes
Auckland District Health Board
Bay of Plenty District Health Board
Canterbury District Health Board
Capital and Coast District Health Board
Counties Manukau District Health Boardreappointed
Hawke's Bay District Health Board
Hutt Valley District Health Board
Lakes District Health Board
MidCentral District Health Boardreappointed
Nelson Marlborough District Health Board
Northland District Health Boardreappointed
South Canterbury District Health Boardreappointed
Southern District Health Board
Tairāwhiti District Health Board
Taranaki District Health Board
Waikato District Health Boardreappointed
Wairarapa District Health Boardreappointed
Waitemata District Health Boardreappointed
West Coast District Health Board
Whanganui District Health Boardreappointed

There were no changes during the term.

December 2013 appointments

The 2013 local elections were held on 12 October. On 29 November 2013, Health Minister Ryall released the list of board chairpersons. Fourteen chairpersons continued in their role and six new appointments were made. Three people chaired two boards.
DHBNameNotes
Auckland District Health Boardreappointed
Bay of Plenty District Health Boardreappointed
Canterbury District Health Boardnew appointment
Capital and Coast District Health Boardreappointed
Counties Manukau District Health Boardnew appointment
Hawke's Bay District Health Boardreappointed
Hutt Valley District Health Boardreappointed
Lakes District Health Boardreappointed
MidCentral District Health Boardreappointed
Nelson Marlborough District Health Boardreappointed
Northland District Health Boardreappointed
South Canterbury District Health Boardreappointed
Southern District Health Boardreappointed
Tairāwhiti District Health Boardreappointed
Taranaki District Health Boardnew appointment
Waikato District Health Boardnew appointment
Wairarapa District Health Boardnew appointment
Waitemata District Health Boardreappointed
West Coast District Health Boardreappointed
Whanganui District Health Boardnew appointment

Changes during 2013–2016 term

In October 2014, the role of Health Minister went from Ryall to Jonathan Coleman. In March 2015, it became known that Coleman intended to replace Southern DHB chair, Joe Butterfield, with a new chair. In May 2015, the government passed the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Elections Bill. This allowed it to keep the commissioners for the Southern DHB in place, with no district health board elections held in that area in 2016. In June 2015, Coleman sacked the entire board and replaced them with commissioners.
DHBIncumbentDateReplacementNotes
Southern DHBJune 2015vacantboard sacked and commissioners installed

December 2016 appointments

The 2016 local elections were held on 8 October. On 1 December 2016, Health Minister Coleman released the list of 19 board chairpersons, with Southern DHB still run by a commissioner. Twelve chairpersons continued in their role and seven new appointments were made. Three people chaired two boards. Dr Lester Levy was from now in charge of the three DHBs in the Auckland area.
DHBNameNotes
Auckland District Health Boardreappointed
Bay of Plenty District Health Boardreappointed
Canterbury District Health Boardreappointed
Capital and Coast District Health Boardnew appointment
Counties Manukau District Health Boardnew appointment
Hawke's Bay District Health Boardreappointed
Hutt Valley District Health Boardnew appointment
Lakes District Health Boardreappointed
MidCentral District Health Boardnew appointment
Nelson Marlborough District Health Boardreappointed
Northland District Health Boardnew appointment
South Canterbury District Health Boardreappointed
Tairāwhiti District Health Boardreappointed
Taranaki District Health Boardreappointed
Waikato District Health Boardreappointed
Wairarapa District Health Boardnew appointment
Waitemata District Health Boardreappointed
West Coast District Health Boardnew appointment
Whanganui District Health Boardreappointed

Changes during 2016–2019 term

After Murray Cleverley's February 2017 resignation from the two boards that he chaired, Coleman appointed his successors in August 2017. John Wood was appointed to the Canterbury DHB, and Ron Luxton took over the chairmanship of the South Canterbury DHB.
After the 2017 general election, the Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand formed and David Clark succeeded Coleman as Minister of Health. Lester Levy resigned in December 2017 as chair of all three Auckland region DHBs as he was nearing the statutory limit of service on the Waitematā DHB, where he had been appointed in June 2009. Clark appointed three new chairpersons: Mark Gosche for Counties-Manukau DHB, Pat Snedden for Auckland DHB, and Judy McGregor for Waitemata DHB. In August 2018, Clark appointed Sally Webb, already the chair of Bay of Plenty DHB, as chairperson for Waikato DHB. At the same time, a Crown Monitor was appointed at Waikato. On 7 May 2019, Clark sacked the board of Waikato DHB and installed Dr Karen Poutasi as a commissioner. Clark also announced that there would be no elections for a new board at the 2019 local elections.
DHBIncumbentDateReplacementNotes
Canterbury DHBAugust 2017Cleverley had resigned in February 2017
South Canterbury DHBAugust 2017Cleverley had resigned in February 2017
Counties Manukau DHB3 May 2018Levy had resigned in December 2017
Auckland DHB1 June 2018Levy had resigned in December 2017
Waitemata DHB10 June 2018Levy had resigned in December 2017
Waikato DHBAugust 2018a Crown Monitor was also appointed
Waikato DHB7 May 2019vacantboard sacked and Dr Karen Poutasi installed as commissioner

December 2019 appointments

The 2019 local elections were held on 12 October. On 7 December 2019, Health Minister Clark released the list of 19 board chairpersons, with the Waikato DHB under continued control by a commissioner.
DHBNameNotes
Auckland District Health Boardreappointed; first appointed 1 June 2018
Bay of Plenty District Health Boardnew appointment
Canterbury District Health Boardnew appointment
Capital and Coast District Health Boardnew appointment
Counties Manukau District Health Boardreappointed; first appointed 3 May 2018
Hawke's Bay District Health Boardnew appointment
Hutt Valley District Health Boardnew appointment
Lakes District Health Boardnew appointment
MidCentral District Health Boardnew appointment
Nelson Marlborough District Health Boardreappointed
Northland District Health Boardnew appointment
Southern District Health Boardnew appointment
South Canterbury District Health Boardreappointed; first appointed August 2017
Tairāwhiti District Health Boardnew appointment
Taranaki District Health Boardnew appointment
Wairarapa District Health Boardreappointed; first appointed December 2016
Waitemata District Health Boardreappointed; first appointed 10 June 2018
West Coast District Health Boardnew appointment
Whanganui District Health Boardnew appointment

Changes during 2019–2022 term

Effective 8 March 2020, Sir Michael Cullen resigned from his chairmanship of the Bay of Plenty DHB after he had been diagnosed with small cell carcinoma. The deputy chair, Sharon Shea, is acting interim chair and the process for appointing a new permanent chairperson is underway.
DHBIncumbentDateReplacementNotes
Bay of Plenty DHB8 March 2020vacantCullen has resigned

List of chairpersons

The following list shows all chairpersons who have served on any of the 22 boards that have existed since 2001.
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