The Vice-Chancellor
Hon Grant Robertson
Ex officio
Current term: July 2024–current
Hon Grant Robertson became the Vice Chancellor on 1 July 2024. Grant comes to the University after fifteen years as a Member of Parliament. He was New Zealand's Minister of Finance from 2017 until 2023 and Deputy Prime Minister from 2020 to 2023. In addition, he has held Ministerial portfolios as Leader of the House, Infrastructure, Sport and Recreation, Racing, Earthquake Commission, Cyclone Recovery and an Associate Ministerial role in Arts, Culture and Heritage.
Grant was born in Palmerston North and began school in Hastings before his family relocated to Dunedin in the late 1970s. He attended Kings High School where he was the Head Prefect and Proxime Accessit. He began studying at the University Of Otago in 1990, graduating with a BA (Hons) in Political Studies. While a student Grant was actively involved in student politics, including being the President of the Otago University Students’ Association and serving on the University Council for two years. After graduating he was the Vice President and then Co-President of the New Zealand University Students’ Association.
Grant is a former diplomat, having worked for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade managing the Overseas Development Assistance Programme in Samoa and representing New Zealand at the United Nations in New York on development and environmental issues. He also worked as an Advisor to former Prime Minister Helen Clark and for the University of Otago as a Business Development Manager in the Research and Enterprise Office.
As Minister of Finance, Grant led the economic response to the COVID pandemic. This response included significant work to support businesses and workers to survive through the pandemic. The government's response received international praise, including upgrades to New Zealand's credit rating from international ratings agencies. Grant has also pioneered the Wellbeing Budget approach that creates an end-to-end Budget process that looks beyond traditional fiscal measures in both what is funded in the Budget and how it is assessed and reported on. This approach is based on the New Zealand Treasury's Living Standards Framework that looks at Budgets through a lens of people, environment and communities as well as more traditional fiscal and economic criteria.
As Minister of Sport and Recreation Grant led New Zealand's first strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Recreation. The strategy has significantly lifted the profile of women's sport, including through the hosting of three Women’s World Cups in cricket, rugby and football. There has also been a major lift in participation of girls and women in sport and in coaching.
Grant met his partner, Alf, many years ago through playing rugby. Grant and Alf are in a civil union partnership. Their family now includes four grandchildren. Outside of work Grant is interested in sport, alternative music, New Zealand art and literature. He is a former trustee of the New Zealand Aids Foundation (now the Burnett Foundation) and is a supporter of a number of charitable organisations, particularly through his work as the MP for Wellington Central.