Barry Maister

Barry Maister was a hockey (field) player for New Zealand who was capped 85 times for New Zealand. He competed at the 1968, 1972, and 1976 Olympics, and was nominated for 1980, which New Zealand’s team did not attend. Maister won a gold medal in 1976 and for his sports accomplishments, was made a member of the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.

Maister studied education in school and became a secondary school teacher and principal. In 1989 he earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the United States. In 2001 he was made secretary-general of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, staying in that role through 2010, when he became President. He was placed on the Executive Committee of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) in 2006, and became their Vice-President in 2009. In 2009 he was also named to the Executive Committee of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). In 2011 Maister was named an international sports ambassador for New Zealand.

In 2010 Maister was co-opted onto the IOC in his role as New Zealand Olympic Committee President. He has since served on several IOC Commissions, as follows: Entourage Commission; Evaluation, then Coordination for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in 2018 in PyeongChang; Coordination for the 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2018 in Buenos Aires; Culture and Olympic Education; and Olympic Programme. In 2012 Maister was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.