Leader of the New Zealand National Party
The Leader of the National Party is the highest ranked politician within the New Zealand National Party. Under the constitution of the party, they are required to be a member of the House of Representatives.
Leader of the National Party | |
---|---|
Member of | New Zealand House of Representatives |
Term length | No fixed term |
Inaugural holder | Adam Hamilton |
Formation | 2 November 1936 |
Deputy | Gerry Brownlee |
The current leader of the National Party is Judith Collins.[1]
The previous leader was Todd Muller, who served since his election on 22 May 2020 until his resignation on 14 July 2020.[2] He replaced Simon Bridges.[3]
Selection
Following a general election, or when a vacancy arises, the Parliamentary Section of the National Party (the Caucus) elects a Leader of the Parliamentary Section (that is, the parliamentary leader). After receiving approval by the Board of Directors (the governing body of the Party), the Leader of the Parliamentary Section becomes the Leader of the Party.[4]
Role
As parliamentary leader, the Leader organises the business of the party in Parliament. He or she also outwardly represents the party to the general public. Within the party organisation, they must ensure political consensus; the constitution of the National Party states that the Leader has "the right to attend any Party meeting or committee meeting and shall be an ex officio member of the Board".[4]
When the National Party forms the Parliamentary Opposition, as it currently does, the Leader of the Party usually acts as the Leader of the Opposition. When the National Party is in Government the Leader generally becomes the Prime Minister of New Zealand. In 1949, Sidney Holland became the first National Prime Minister.[5]
List of leaders
Of the fourteen people to officially hold the leadership, eight have served as prime minister.
Key:
National
Labour
PM: Prime Minister
LO: Leader of the Opposition
No. | Leader | Portrait | Electorate | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Position | Prime Minister | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Adam Hamilton | Wallace | 2 November 1936 | 26 November 1940 | 4 years, 24 days | LO 1936–1940 | Savage | |||
2 | Sidney Holland | Fendalton | 26 November 1940 | 20 September 1957 | 16 years, 298 days | LO 1940–1949 | Fraser | |||
PM 1949–1957 | Holland | |||||||||
3 | Keith Holyoake | Pahiatua | 20 September 1957 | 7 February 1972 | 14 years, 140 days | PM 1957 | Holyoake | |||
LO 1957–1960 | Nash | |||||||||
PM 1960–1972 | Holyoake | |||||||||
4 | Jack Marshall | Karori | 7 February 1972 | 4 July 1974 | 2 years, 147 days | PM 1972 | Marshall | |||
LO 1972–1974 | Kirk | |||||||||
5 | Robert Muldoon | Tamaki | 4 July 1974 | 29 November 1984 | 10 years, 148 days | LO 1974–1975 | Rowling | |||
PM 1975–1984 | Muldoon | |||||||||
LO 1984 | Lange | |||||||||
6 | Jim McLay | Birkenhead | 29 November 1984 | 26 March 1986 | 1 year, 117 days | LO 1984–1986 | ||||
7 | Jim Bolger | King Country (1972–96) Taranaki-King Country (1996–98) |
26 March 1986 | 8 December 1997 | 11 years, 257 days | LO 1986–1990 | ||||
Palmer | ||||||||||
Moore | ||||||||||
PM 1990–1997 | Bolger | |||||||||
8 | Jenny Shipley | Rakaia | 8 December 1997 | 8 October 2001 | 3 years, 304 days | PM 1997–1999 | Shipley | |||
LO 1999–2001 | Clark | |||||||||
9 | Bill English | Clutha-Southland | 8 October 2001 | 28 October 2003 | 2 years, 20 days | LO 2001–2003 | ||||
10 | Don Brash | List MP | 28 October 2003 | 27 November 2006 | 3 years and 30 days | LO 2003–2006 | ||||
11 | John Key | Helensville | 27 November 2006 | 12 December 2016 | 10 years, 15 days | LO 2006–2008 | ||||
PM 2008–2016 | Key | |||||||||
(9) | Bill English | List MP | 12 December 2016 | 27 February 2018 | 1 year, 77 days | PM 2016–2017 | English | |||
LO 2017–2018 | Ardern | |||||||||
12 | Simon Bridges | Tauranga | 27 February 2018 | 22 May 2020 | 2 years, 85 days | LO 2018–2020 | ||||
13 | Todd Muller | Bay of Plenty | 22 May 2020 | 14 July 2020 | 53 days | LO 2020 | ||||
- | Nikki Kaye[note 1] | Auckland Central | 14 July 2020 | <1 day | Acting LO[6] 2020 | |||||
14 | Judith Collins | Papakura | 14 July 2020 | Incumbent | 28 days | LO 2020 |
Notes
- Deputy leader who assumed the role of party leader temporarily because of the resignation of the incumbent, serving until the election of a new leader.
References
- Sadler, Rachel (14 July 2020). "Judith Collins announced as new National Party leader". Newshub. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- Manch, Thomas (13 July 2020). "Todd Muller resigns as leader of the National Party". Stuff. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- Kirk, Stacey (27 February 2018). "Simon Bridges emerges as next National Party leader, Nikki Kaye his deputy". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- "Constitution and Rules of the New Zealand National Party" (PDF) (26th ed.). New Zealand National Party. 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020 – via New Zealand Electoral Commission.
- "Sidney Holland". nzhistory.govt.nz. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- "Nikki Kaye to serve as acting leader of National as MPs rush to Wellington following Muller bombshell". 1 News. TVNZ. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.