Prime Minister of New Zealand

The prime minister of New Zealand () is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leader of the New Zealand National Party, took office on 27 November 2023.

The prime minister (informally abbreviated to PM) ranks as the most senior government minister. They are responsible for chairing meetings of Cabinet; allocating posts to ministers within the government; acting as the spokesperson for the government; and providing advice to the sovereign or the sovereign's representative, the governor-general. They also have ministerial responsibility for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which is based in the Beehive in Wellington.

The office exists by a long-established convention, which originated in New Zealand's former colonial power, the then United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The convention stipulates that when the office becomes vacant, the governor-general must select as prime minister the person most likely to command the support, or confidence, of the House of Representatives. This individual is typically the parliamentary leader of the political party that holds the largest number of seats in that house. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their actions to the governor-general, to the House of Representatives, to their political party, and ultimately to the national electorate.

Originally the head of government was titled "colonial secretary" or "first minister". This was changed in 1869 to "premier". That title remained in use for more than 30 years, until Richard Seddon changed it to "prime minister" in 1900 during his tenure in the office. New Zealand prime ministers are styled as "The Right Honourable", a privilege they retain for life.

Forty-two people (thirty-nine men and three women) have served as prime minister, the first being Henry Sewell, who took office on 7 May 1856 as premier. The longest-serving prime minister was Richard Seddon, who served over 13 years, and the shortest-serving was Sewell, who served two weeks.

Appointment and tenure

The governor-general appoints a prime minister, like other ministerial positions, on behalf of the monarch. By the conventions of responsible government, the governor-general will call to form a government the individual most likely to receive the support, or confidence, of a majority of the elected members of parliament (MPs). In making this appointment, convention requires the governor-general to act on the outcome of the electoral process and subsequent discussions between political parties by which the person who will lead the government as prime minister is identified. In practice, the position typically falls to an MP who is the parliamentary leader of the largest political party among those forming the government. The prime minister may lead a coalition government and/or a minority government dependent on support from smaller parties during confidence and supply votes.

thumb|left|[[Christopher Luxon reads the oath of allegiance, 27 November 2023]]

Once appointed and sworn in by the governor-general, the prime minister remains in the post until dismissal, resignation, or death in office.

The ability to appoint and dismiss ministers, and to allocate portfolios
the influence a prime minister is likely/assumed to have as leader of the dominant political party, which may afford more direct control over subordinates than is attached to the prime ministerial role

Other roles and functions

Prime ministers also take on additional portfolios (to prioritise policy areas).

Before 2014, the prime minister was also responsible for the New Zealand Security and Intelligence Service (NZSIS) and for the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB).

Privileges of office

Salary and perquisites

Under the Remuneration Authority Act 1977, and the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Act 2013, a prime minister's salary is determined annually by the Remuneration Authority, an independent body established by parliament to set salaries for members of parliament and other government officials. MPs' salaries were temporarily reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. , the prime minister's salary is set at NZ$498,300. In addition, like all other ministers and MPs, the prime minister receives annual allowances for travel and lodging, as do the prime minister's spouse and children.

thumb|[[Premier House in Wellington is the prime minister's residence.]]

The incumbent prime minister's official residence is Premier House, Tinakori Road, Wellington. There the prime minister hosts receptions and events for New Zealand and overseas guests. Unlike the residences of certain other heads of government (e.g. the White House and 10 Downing Street), Premier House does not serve as the government headquarters; the location of the prime minister's office is the Beehive, in the parliament precinct a short distance away. It is also traditional for the monarch to bestow a knighthood or damehood on prime ministers after they leave office, and two prime ministers were knighted while still in office (namely Sir Keith Holyoake in 1970, and Sir Robert Muldoon in 1983).

Security and transport

The Dignitary Protection Service (DPS) is a special branch of the New Zealand Police that is charged with protecting the prime minister and their family, as well as members of parliament, members of the judiciary, and visiting foreign dignitaries when required.

The DPS provides the prime minister with transport; they are driven in the BMW 7 Series 730LD and 750LI, the latter of which is armoured. Although usually flown domestically on regularly scheduled Air New Zealand flights, the prime minister also makes use of Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft, usually Boeing 757. The 757 aircraft, which are used for international travel, has been upgraded with work stations, internal air stairs, and military communications capabilities. The 757 fleet is set to be replaced by 2028.

After office

Former officeholders are entitled to annuity and travel payments for the rest of their lives. Former prime ministers who held the office for no less than two years are entitled to a yearly rate of $10,900 for each complete year the person held office, with a maximum of $54,500 payable annually. Former prime ministers, when travelling within New Zealand, are eligible to be paid if the travel is for fulfilling commitments related to his or her role as a former prime minister.

Should a serving or former prime minister die, they are accorded a state funeral (subject to the approval of the family). Two prime ministers who died in office were buried in mausoleums: William Massey (died 1925) in the Massey Memorial in Wellington, and Michael Joseph Savage (died 1940) in the Savage Memorial at Bastion Point in Auckland.

History

thumb|upright|[[Henry Sewell, regarded as New Zealand's first premier]]

Assuming that Henry Sewell is counted as the first prime minister, 42 individuals have held the office since it was established. Some of these people have held it on several separate occasions, with the record for maximum number of times being shared between William Fox and Harry Atkinson (both of whom served four times). The longest that anyone has served in the office is 13 years, a record set by Richard Seddon. The first holder of the office, Henry Sewell, led the country for the shortest total time; his only term lasted just 13 days. The shortest term belonged to Harry Atkinson, whose third term lasted only seven days, but Atkinson served longer in total than did Sewell. The youngest was Edward Stafford, who was appointed premier in 1856, at 37 years, 40 days old. The oldest was Walter Nash, who was 78 years old when he left office in 1960 (and 75 upon taking office in 1957).

New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world to have had three female heads of government and one of only three countries to have had a female head of government directly succeed another. The first female prime minister was Jenny Shipley of the National Party, who replaced Jim Bolger in late 1997; Shipley was succeeded by Helen Clark in 1999. Jacinda Ardern, the second female leader of the Labour Party after Clark, became prime minister in 2017.

The origins of the office of prime minister are disputed. Use of the words prime minister as a descriptive term dates back to the First Parliament, where they are applied to James FitzGerald and Thomas Forsaith. FitzGerald and Forsaith had no official titles, however, and New Zealand had not yet obtained self-government. As such, they are not usually considered prime ministers in any substantive sense.

The first person to be formally appointed to a position of executive leadership was Henry Sewell, From that point, the title "premier" was used almost exclusively for the remainder of the 19th century. Nevertheless, in the Schedule of the Civil List of 1873, provision was made for the salary of the head of government "being the Prime Minister". Stafford also clashed with the governor over control of native affairs, which was eventually to fall within the premier's powers.

Party leadership

thumb|left|upright|[[Richard Seddon styled himself "Prime Minister" at the turn of the 20th century]]

Premiers were initially supported by unorganised factions based on personal interests, and their governments were short-lived. The political position of the premier was enhanced by the development of modern political parties. Premier John Ballance organised the first formal party in New Zealand, the Liberal Party, forming the Liberal Government in 1891. There was little real parliamentary opposition until 1909, when William Massey organised his conservative faction to form the Reform Party. Thereafter political power centred on parties and their leaders. (Subsequent governments were led by prime ministers from the Reform, United, Labour and National parties.

After 1900, Richard Seddon, the incumbent head of government, used the title of "prime minister". The change of title was reflected in the New Zealand Official Yearbook of that year.

The expanding power of the prime minister was kept in check by the need to build consensus with other leading members of the Cabinet and of the governing party, including those who represented various ideological wings of the party. Other institutions, including Parliament itself and the wider state bureaucracy, also acted as limits on prime ministerial power; in 1912 Thomas Mackenzie was the last prime minister to lose power through an unsuccessful confidence motion in the House of Representatives.

Until the premiership of Helen Clark, it was customary for senior members of the legislature, executive and judiciary—including the prime minister—to be appointed to the Privy Council, granting them the style "Right Honourable". This practice was discontinued at the same time as the abolition of knighthoods and damehoods in 2000 from the New Zealand royal honours system. National's John Key became prime minister in 2008 and moved to restore titular honours, but did not resume appointments to the Privy Council, meaning Key was styled "The Honourable".

On 3 August 2010, the Queen granted the style "Right Honourable" to the offices of prime minister, governor-general, speaker of the House of Representatives and chief justice, to be held for life by those appointed to these roles.

On 21 June 2018, Labour's Jacinda Ardern became the first prime minister of New Zealand (and second elected head of government in the world) to give birth while in office. Ardern was also the first prime minister to lead a single-party majority government since the introduction of MMP, doing so from 2020 to 2023.

Deputy prime minister

An office titled "deputy prime minister" has existed since 1949. The deputy typically holds important ministerial portfolios and, by convention, becomes acting prime minister in the absence or incapacity of the prime minister. The deputy is commonly a member of the same party as the prime minister, but not necessarily so; in coalition governments, the parliamentary leader of a junior party may be offered the post. David Seymour, leader of ACT New Zealand, has been deputy prime minister since 31 May 2025.

Lists relating to the prime ministers of New Zealand

Lists of the 42 people who have so far held the premiership:

List of prime ministers of New Zealand
List of prime ministers of New Zealand by age
List of prime ministers of New Zealand by place of birth
List of prime ministers of New Zealand by education

Notes

References

External links

Prime Minister at Beehive.govt.nz
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)
Biographies of Premiers and Prime Ministers at NZHistory