Jan Tinetti is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and list Member of Parliament based in Tauranga [40][41].
Tinetti was educated at Villa Maria College [18] and at Christchurch College of Education [15]. According to a single reputable secondary source, she also studied at the University of Canterbury [16] and the University of Waikato [17].
Before entering politics, Tinetti worked as a primary school teacher [4], with one source indicating she began teaching from 1990 [5]. She also served as a primary school principal [3]. According to a single reputable secondary source, she held the role of principal at Merivale School in Tauranga for more than eleven years [6][9][10]. The same source also notes an earlier role as a school principal in Southland from 1997 [12]. Prior to her education career, a single reputable secondary source reports that she worked as a hospital cleaner in hospital kitchens [1] and as a performer in a panda costume at The Panda restaurant in Christchurch [2].
Tinetti entered Parliament as a Labour list MP, first elected in 2017 [28], with one source placing her entry in November of that year [27]. According to single reputable secondary sources, she served initially as an ordinary MP across several parliamentary years [35][36][37] before taking on ministerial responsibilities. She is reported to have served as Associate Minister of Education from 2020 [21] and as Minister for Women from 2020 [32]. Sources indicate she also held the role of Minister of Internal Affairs from 2020, though two overlapping sources differ on the precise details of that tenure [34]. According to a single reputable secondary source, she became Minister for Education on 31 January 2023 [30], and also served as Minister for Child Poverty Reduction from 2023 [29] and as Acting Minister of Education from 2023 [19]. As of 2025, a single reputable secondary source lists her as a trustee and beneficiary of the Merton Tinetti Family Trust [13] and as a director of Etools Limited, a domain name management company [14].