Andrew Kibblewhite has begun his role as Secretary for Justice and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Justice.

Mr Kibblewhite was Chief Executive of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from 2012. Before that he was Deputy Chief Executive at the Treasury. He has a BSc(Hons) from the University of Canterbury, a BCA from Victoria University of Wellington, and an MBA from Stanford University.

At his welcoming pōwhiri on 1 February, Mr Kibblewhite said the ministry would play a major role in delivering to the Government's agenda for the justice sector.

“The Government has a significant agenda for change with reviews to reform both the criminal justice system and the family justice system currently in train," he said.

"There’s also a referendum on the use of cannabis, a new tribunal to address outstanding issues from the Canterbury earthquakes and ongoing measures to tackle New Zealand’s poor record of family and sexual violence to name just some of the issues we’ll address in the next two years.”

Mr Kibblewhite takes over from Andrew Bridgman who becomes Secretary of Defence later this year.

Andrew Kibblewhite (centre), with Sir John Clarke (left) and Kura Moeahu.