| Minister for Ethnic Communities | |
|---|---|
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| Style | The Honourable |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | Prime Minister of New Zealand |
| Appointer | Governor-General of New Zealand |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Formation | 1999 |
| First holder | George Hawkins (as Minister of Ethnic Affairs) |
TheMinister for Ethnic Communities is aminister in theNew Zealand Government with broad responsibilities for ethnic inclusion.
The current Minister for Ethnic CommunitiesMark Mitchell.[1]
The minister is broadly responsible for supporting ethnic and culturally diverse communities in New Zealand. They are the responsible minister for theMinistry for Ethnic Communities and also oversee theChinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust.[2]
The first appointment to theMinister of Ethnic Affairs was made in 1999 at the formation of theFifth Labour Government. Through the1999 election campaign, both Labour and United had pledged to appoint an ethnic affairs minister to "be involved at all levels of decision-making on issues affecting ethnic communities."[3] The inaugural appointment wasGeorge Hawkins.
The position was renamed toMinister for Ethnic Communities in 2015.[4] The title was brieflyMinister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities between 2020 and 2023.[5]
The following ministers have held the office of Minister for Ethnic Communities.
| No. | Name | Portrait | Term of office | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As Minister of Ethnic Affairs | |||||||
| 1 | George Hawkins |  | 10 December 1999 | 15 August 2002 | Clark | ||
| 2 | Chris Carter |  | 15 August 2002 | 19 November 2008 | |||
| 3 | Pansy Wong |  | 19 November 2008 | 12 November 2010 | Key | ||
| - | Georgina te Heuheu Acting | .jpg) | 12 November 2010 | 1 February 2011 | |||
| 4 | Hekia Parata |  | 1 February 2011 | 14 December 2011 | |||
| 5 | Judith Collins |  | 14 December 2011 | 30 August 2014 | |||
| - | Hekia Parata Acting | | 30 August 2014 | 8 October 2014 | |||
| 6 | Sam Lotu-Iiga |  | 8 October 2014 | 1 March 2015 | |||
| As Minister for Ethnic Communities | |||||||
| (6) | Sam Lotu-Iiga | | 1 March 2015 | 20 December 2016 | Key | ||
| (5) | Judith Collins | | 20 December 2016 | 26 October 2017 | English | ||
| 7 | Jenny Salesa |  | 26 October 2017 | 6 November 2020 | Ardern | ||
| As Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities | |||||||
| 8 | Priyanca Radhakrishnan |  | 6 November 2020 | 27 November 2023 | Ardern | ||
| Hipkins | |||||||
| As Minister for Ethnic Communities | |||||||
| 9 | Melissa Lee | .png) | 27 November 2023 | 24 January 2025 | Luxon | ||
| 10 | Mark Mitchell | | 24 January 2025 | Incumbent | |||
