Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM, QSO (born 14 November 1954) is the former Governor-General of New Zealand. He was born in Whanganui, Manawatu-Wanganui on the North Island. He enlisted in the New Zealand Army in 1974 as a private. He became an officer after graduating from the Officer Cadet School, Portsea in Australia. He was eventually promoted to lieutenant general in 2006.