[8] From December 1999 to July 2001, he was the Joint Commander for New Zealand forces attached to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor.

[6] On 26 August 2010, Prime Minister John Key announced the appointment of Mateparae as Director of the Government Communications Security Bureau.

[14] He became Chancellor and Principal Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit and Principal Companion of the Queen's Service Order upon taking office as governor-general,[15] making him "His Excellency Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jeremiah Mateparae GNZM QSO".

[19] In June 2014, he attended the 70th anniversary commemorations of D Day in Normandy with Queen Elizabeth II, other heads of government and world leaders, taking a number of New Zealand veterans with him.

Mateparae expanded on a tradition started by his predecessor, Sir Anand Satyanand in 2012, releasing the Governor-General's New Year Message on video for the first time.

[20] On 16 December 2016, it was announced that Mateparae would be New Zealand's next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, replacing Sir Lockwood Smith in early 2017.

[26] Mateparae was appointed an Additional Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 1999 New Year Honours,[27] for his service in Bougainville.

In May 2011 the Singapore government awarded him the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera) – Distinguished Service Order (Military).