Sir Donald McKinnon has joined the board of the Waitangi National Trust.
Sir Donald, a former Commonwealth Secretary General and National Party MP, was taking his seat for the first time at a trust meeting in Waitangi on Wednesday.
He replaces the prominent anthropologist and writer Dame Joan Metge, who is retiring from the board after 14 years.
Trust chairman Pita Paraone has paid tribute to Dame Joan for her contributions to Waitangi education programmes.
The Waitangi National Trust manages the Treaty Grounds on behalf of the public. Board members include academics and people with family or historical connections to Waitangi.
The seat vacated by Dame Joan is reserved for someone prominent in the life of the nation as a statesman, historian or archaeologist.
