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Story: Premiers and prime ministers

Heather Simpson

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Heather Simpson

From the 1970s prime ministers supplemented the public service with political advisers. One very powerful adviser was Helen Clark’s chief of staff, economist and long-time friend Heather Simpson. Dubbed ‘H2’ by insiders after the initial she shared with the prime minister, Simpson avoided the limelight but behind the scenes was ‘across everything’, as one minister put it.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: DCDL-0005921

by Murray Webb

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Gavin McLean, Premiers and prime ministers – Support services and statues, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/33206/heather-simpson (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Gavin McLean, published 7 May 2012, updated 1 December 2016.