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Anand Satyanand
Sir Anand Satyanand GNZM QSO KStJ (born 22 July 1944) is a New Zealand lawyer, judge, and ombudsman who served as the 19th Governor-General of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011.
Satyanand was the Chair of the Commonwealth Foundation for two 2-year terms, ending in December 2016. He then chaired the Commonwealth Group which observed the national elections in Papua New Guinea in 2017. In 2018, the New Zealand Government appointed him to lead the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State care and in the care of Faith-based Institutions. In November 2019, at the conclusion of its build-up phase, he stepped down as Chair of the Commission. He served as Chancellor of the University of Waikato from August 2019 until July 2025.
Anand Satyanand was born on 22 July 1944 and raised in Auckland to Indo-Fijian parents. Both of his parents were born in Fiji and all four of his grandparents came from India, originating from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. His maternal grandfather, Tilakdas, left a small village near Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, aged 6 years, and travelled to Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) where his father, uncle and grandfather were indentured as labourers, and sailed for Fiji with them in 1882. In 1897, Tilakdas married Sumintra, the daughter of another girmitiya family. Their daughter Taramati (Satyanand’s mother) was born in 1918 in Suva.
Satyanand's paternal grandparents, originally from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh (located in the state's East Godavari district), sailed from Chennai (formerly known as Madras) in 1911. Their son, Mutyala Satyanand, was born in Sigatoka in 1913, while his father worked as a government interpreter. Mutyala Satyanand arrived in New Zealand in 1927 on a Fiji Government scholarship to attend Wanganui Technical College and later the University of Otago in Dunedin. He completed his Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Medicine degrees in 1938 — the first Indian to graduate with a medical degree in New Zealand. In the same year, Satyanand’s mother Tara Tillak, arrived in New Zealand to train as a Karitane nurse in New Zealand. She married Mutyala Satyanand in 1939. Anand was born in 1944 and their second son, Vijay Satyanand, was born in 1949.
Satyanand attended Sacred Heart College in Auckland, and then undertook the medical intermediate course at the University of Otago in Dunedin. He was not successful in gaining entry to the medical school. Instead he turned to law studies, working part-time as a law clerk in Auckland. He worked at Westfield Freezing Works to help fund his studies, with his friend David Lange He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Auckland in 1970. He worked as a lawyer for the next 12 years, some of that with the Crown Solicitor's firm and then as a Partner with the legal firm Shieff Angland. His legal work centred on criminal law and revenue law. He served on the Council of the Auckland District Law Society from 1979 until his appointment as a Judge of the District Court of New Zealand in 1982.
During the 1966 general election, Satyanand helped Clive Edwards (later Tongan Deputy Prime Minister) when he stood in Auckland Central for National. Later, in the 1975 general election, Anand and Susan helped David Lange in his first, unsuccessful attempt at election (for Labour, in the seat of Hobson).
During his 12 years as a District Court Judge, Satyanand helped to develop professional education programmes for judges, and served as a Chair of the Napier Prison Board and then Deputy Chair of the National Parole Board. He maintained special interests in criminal justice and law reform. In 1995 Satyanand was appointed as a Parliamentary Ombudsman, and he served two 5-year terms. Between 2005 and his appointment as governor-general he chaired the Confidential Forum for Former In-Patients of Psychiatric Hospitals, reviewed the Banking Ombudsman scheme, and installed the Pecuniary Interests Register and Scheme for Members of Parliament. In 2006, he was granted an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Auckland.
While he was a law clerk, Anand met a legal executive, Susan Sharpe, who was born in Sydney, Australia in 1947. They were married in 1970 and over the next 10 years, had three children: Tara, Anya and Rohan, who in turn have produced five grandchildren: Joshua, Lola, Leilani, Tomás and Diego. Their son Rohan was married in 2010, and their Anya had a civil union in 2012. In 2002, Anand and Susan were involved in a serious car accident in Dome Valley north of Warkworth, Northland, where an oncoming car crossed the centre-line and crashed head-on into their car. Both were injured, and Satyanand suffered serious spinal injury; he broke his C2 and C3 vertebrae, and had to wear a halo traction to keep his head straight.
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Anand Satyanand
Sir Anand Satyanand GNZM QSO KStJ (born 22 July 1944) is a New Zealand lawyer, judge, and ombudsman who served as the 19th Governor-General of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011.
Satyanand was the Chair of the Commonwealth Foundation for two 2-year terms, ending in December 2016. He then chaired the Commonwealth Group which observed the national elections in Papua New Guinea in 2017. In 2018, the New Zealand Government appointed him to lead the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State care and in the care of Faith-based Institutions. In November 2019, at the conclusion of its build-up phase, he stepped down as Chair of the Commission. He served as Chancellor of the University of Waikato from August 2019 until July 2025.
Anand Satyanand was born on 22 July 1944 and raised in Auckland to Indo-Fijian parents. Both of his parents were born in Fiji and all four of his grandparents came from India, originating from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. His maternal grandfather, Tilakdas, left a small village near Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, aged 6 years, and travelled to Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) where his father, uncle and grandfather were indentured as labourers, and sailed for Fiji with them in 1882. In 1897, Tilakdas married Sumintra, the daughter of another girmitiya family. Their daughter Taramati (Satyanand’s mother) was born in 1918 in Suva.
Satyanand's paternal grandparents, originally from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh (located in the state's East Godavari district), sailed from Chennai (formerly known as Madras) in 1911. Their son, Mutyala Satyanand, was born in Sigatoka in 1913, while his father worked as a government interpreter. Mutyala Satyanand arrived in New Zealand in 1927 on a Fiji Government scholarship to attend Wanganui Technical College and later the University of Otago in Dunedin. He completed his Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Medicine degrees in 1938 — the first Indian to graduate with a medical degree in New Zealand. In the same year, Satyanand’s mother Tara Tillak, arrived in New Zealand to train as a Karitane nurse in New Zealand. She married Mutyala Satyanand in 1939. Anand was born in 1944 and their second son, Vijay Satyanand, was born in 1949.
Satyanand attended Sacred Heart College in Auckland, and then undertook the medical intermediate course at the University of Otago in Dunedin. He was not successful in gaining entry to the medical school. Instead he turned to law studies, working part-time as a law clerk in Auckland. He worked at Westfield Freezing Works to help fund his studies, with his friend David Lange He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Auckland in 1970. He worked as a lawyer for the next 12 years, some of that with the Crown Solicitor's firm and then as a Partner with the legal firm Shieff Angland. His legal work centred on criminal law and revenue law. He served on the Council of the Auckland District Law Society from 1979 until his appointment as a Judge of the District Court of New Zealand in 1982.
During the 1966 general election, Satyanand helped Clive Edwards (later Tongan Deputy Prime Minister) when he stood in Auckland Central for National. Later, in the 1975 general election, Anand and Susan helped David Lange in his first, unsuccessful attempt at election (for Labour, in the seat of Hobson).
During his 12 years as a District Court Judge, Satyanand helped to develop professional education programmes for judges, and served as a Chair of the Napier Prison Board and then Deputy Chair of the National Parole Board. He maintained special interests in criminal justice and law reform. In 1995 Satyanand was appointed as a Parliamentary Ombudsman, and he served two 5-year terms. Between 2005 and his appointment as governor-general he chaired the Confidential Forum for Former In-Patients of Psychiatric Hospitals, reviewed the Banking Ombudsman scheme, and installed the Pecuniary Interests Register and Scheme for Members of Parliament. In 2006, he was granted an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Auckland.
While he was a law clerk, Anand met a legal executive, Susan Sharpe, who was born in Sydney, Australia in 1947. They were married in 1970 and over the next 10 years, had three children: Tara, Anya and Rohan, who in turn have produced five grandchildren: Joshua, Lola, Leilani, Tomás and Diego. Their son Rohan was married in 2010, and their Anya had a civil union in 2012. In 2002, Anand and Susan were involved in a serious car accident in Dome Valley north of Warkworth, Northland, where an oncoming car crossed the centre-line and crashed head-on into their car. Both were injured, and Satyanand suffered serious spinal injury; he broke his C2 and C3 vertebrae, and had to wear a halo traction to keep his head straight.
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