Jerry Mateparae

Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM, QSO (born 14 November 1954) is the former Governor-General of New Zealand. He was born in Whanganui, Manawatu-Wanganui on the North Island. He enlisted in the New Zealand Army in 1974 as a private. He became an officer after graduating from the Officer Cadet School, Portsea in Australia. He was eventually promoted to lieutenant general in 2006.
He was Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force from 2006 to 2011. From 2011 until 2016 he was governor-general of New Zealand. Since 2017, he has been High Commissioner from New Zealand to the United Kingdom.