John Henderson was appointed to the Board in 2006. John is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Canterbury, where he specialises in Pacific politics.
From 1983 to 1985 John served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in London. He returned to New Zealand to chair the Prime Minister's Advisory Group for Prime Minister David Lange. John was Director of the Prime Minister’s Office from 1987 to 1989, after which he chaired the South Pacific Policy Review and returned to academic teaching.
John graduated with a PhD in International Relations from Duke University in the United States in 1977. He has held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington (1982-1983) and Auckland University (1992), as well as at Canterbury University.