New Chief of Navy

Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman has announced today that the new Chief of Navy will be Rear Admiral Jack Steer.

Rear Admiral Steer, who is currently the Vice Chief of Defence Force, will take up his new appointment on 1 December, replacing the current Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Tony Parr.

“Rear Admiral Steer has a long career with the Navy and will bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise to the role,” says Defence Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman.

“He is well qualified for the job and has the strong leadership skills necessary to take New Zealand’s Navy into the future.” he said.

Rear Admiral Jack Steer was born in Christchurch and joined the Royal New Zealand Navy on 3 January 1973 as a midshipman, specialising as a seaman officer.  He has held numerous roles during his career including Commander of the HMNZS WELLINGTON, which successfully contributed to the Multinational Interception Force operations in the Arabian Gulf, enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq.

He has also completed a number of training courses and in 2002 he undertook the Defence and Strategic Studies course at CDSS, Canberra and gained his MA in Strategic Studies.

In 1995 he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

He was promoted to Commodore in April 2004 and appointed as Maritime Component Commander. In January 2006 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Navy.  He took up the position as Commander Joint Forces New Zealand in May 2006 and was promoted to Rear Admiral.

In February 2008 he was appointed Vice Chief of Defence Force, a position he has held for the past four years.