Nigel S. Roberts is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science. He taught at Victoria University of Wellington for more than thirty years and, prior to that, lectured in Political Science at the University of Canterbury for eleven years. As a teacher and researcher, he has specialised in comparative politics and political sociology — with a particular emphasis on New Zealand, American, Australian, and Scandinavian politics; electoral systems; and voting behaviour. Together with Professors Jonathan Boston, Stephen Levine and Elizabeth McLeay, he was a member of the New Zealand Political Change Project, which was funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology for eight years (between 1995 and 2003) to investigate the consequences of New Zealand’s switch to proportional representation. Nigel Roberts was an official advisor to the Electoral Referendum Panels and to the Electoral Commission in connection with the electoral systems’ referendums held in New Zealand in 1992, 1993, and 2011. From 1975 until 2008, Nigel Roberts was an election-night commentator—first for Radio New Zealand and then, for eight successive elections, for Television New Zealand. His off-campus interests include mountaineering, long-distance running, and photography.

Nigel S. Roberts was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.