Born and raised in
Scotland, Stewart joined the public service in 1993.
Stewart’s career has taken him from rural General Practitioner to
Director of Protection Regulation and Assurance. In his 24-year career at the
Ministry of Health he has undertaken a number of roles including Group Manager
of Medsafe, and Director of Public Health.
Stewart completed his Masters in Public Health in 2002 and was admitted
as a Fellow of Royal Australasian College of Medical Administration in 2007.
Stewart’s experience within the Ministry of Health demonstrates he is an
articulate advocate of pragmatic risk management. Stewart has a unique
perspective on the cultural, ethical, linguistic and political challenges that
face regulators and public health officials when communicating about risk and
risk management.
Stewart has been directly involved in dealing with complex public health
issues such as the New Zealand response to Ebola, and other major public health
and regulatory issues relating to medicines and medical device safety, tobacco
control, water fluoridation and rheumatic fever. Internationally Stewart is one
of the Western Pacific’s representatives on the Executive Board of the World
Health Organisation and is Chair of the General Assembly of SNOMED CT
International the International Standards Organisation that developed the
standardised medicines and medical devices terminology used in New Zealand and
over 30 other countries.
