Editing Prime Minister of New Zealand (section)

==History==
[[File:Henry Sewell, ca 1872.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Henry Sewell]], regarded as New Zealand's first premier]]

Assuming that [[Henry Sewell]] is counted as the first prime minister, [[List of prime ministers of New Zealand|42 individuals]] have held the office since it was established.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prime Ministers of New Zealand since 1856 |url=https://www.parliament.nz/en/visit-and-learn/mps-and-parliaments-1854-onwards/prime-ministers-of-new-zealand-since-1856/ |website=www.parliament.nz |publisher=New Zealand Parliament |access-date=5 February 2023 |language=en-NZ |date=25 January 2023}}</ref><!--Dynamic list--> Some of these people have held it on several separate occasions, with the record for maximum number of times being shared between [[William Fox (politician)|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.<ref name="trivia">{{cite web|title=Prime ministerial trivia|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/premiers-and-pms/trivia|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=15 May 2018}}</ref> The youngest was [[Edward Stafford (politician)|Edward Stafford]], who was appointed premier in 1856, at 37 years, 40 days old.<ref name="Coulter">{{cite web|last1=Coulter|first1=Martin|title=New Zealand gets its third female Prime Minister, aged 37|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/new-zealand-gets-its-third-female-prime-minister-and-jacinda-ardern-is-just-37-a3662496.html|work=Evening Standard|access-date=15 May 2018|date=19 October 2017}}</ref> The oldest was [[Walter Nash]], who was 78 years old when he left office in 1960 (and 75 upon taking office in 1957).<ref name="trivia"/>

It is regarded that all New Zealand prime ministers thus far have been [[Pākehā]] ([[New Zealand European]]), and mostly of [[British people|British]] and [[Irish people|Irish]] descent. There was persistent speculation during his lifetime that [[Norman Kirk]] (Prime Minister from 1972 to 1974) was [[Māori people|Māori]] and had [[Ngāi Tahu|Kāi Tahu]] ancestry; he never publicly identified himself as such, and there is no substantial evidence for the claim.<ref>{{DNZB|last=Bassett|first=Michael|id=5k12|title=Kirk, Norman Eric|access-date=2 July 2022}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Women fight it out in NZ poll|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/women-fight-it-out-in-nz-poll-1127761.html|access-date=15 May 2018|work=The Independent|date=21 November 1999}}</ref> The first female prime minister was [[Jenny Shipley]] of the [[New Zealand National Party|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 [[New Zealand Labour Party|Labour Party]] after Clark, became prime minister in 2017.<ref name="Coulter"/>

===Early leaders===
On becoming the [[Colony of New Zealand]] in 1841, the country was directly governed by a [[Governor-General of New Zealand|governor]], appointed by the [[Colonial Office]] in Britain. [[Self-government]] was established in 1853, following the [[New Zealand Constitution Act 1852]], and the [[1st New Zealand Parliament|First Parliament]] met on 24 May 1854.<ref>{{cite web|title=The House of Representatives – First sitting, 1854|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/history-of-parliament/first-sitting-1854|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=15 May 2018|date=19 August 2015}}</ref>

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 (New Zealand politician)|James FitzGerald]] and [[Thomas Forsaith]].<ref name="McLean">{{cite book|last1=McLean|first1=Gavin|title=The Governors: New Zealand's Governors and Governors-General|date=2006|publisher=Otago University Press|page=354|isbn=9781877372254|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-IOOAAAAMAAJ|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name="McLintock1966">{{cite web|last1=McLintock|first1=Alexander Hare|last2=Foster|first2=Bernard John|last3=Taonga|title=The First Premier|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/prime-ministers-of-new-zealand|website=[[An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand]]|publisher= Ministry for Culture and Heritage|access-date=15 May 2018|language=en|date=1966}}</ref>

The first person to be formally appointed to a position of executive leadership was [[Henry Sewell]],<ref name="McLintock1966"/> who formed a brief [[Ministry (collective executive)|ministry]] in April 1856, at the beginning of the [[2nd New Zealand Parliament|Second Parliament]]. Despite his formal leadership role, however, his only actual title was "[[Colonial Secretary of New Zealand|colonial secretary]]",<ref name="McLean"/> a position comparable to a [[Minister of Internal Affairs (New Zealand)|minister of internal affairs]]. His successor, [[William Fox (politician)|William Fox]], was also given a formal leadership role but was not a colonial secretary. In 1864 when [[Frederick Weld]] became the sixth person appointed to formal leadership, a substantive leadership title, "premier", appeared. Weld's successor, [[Edward Stafford (politician)|Edward Stafford]], briefly changed the title to "first minister", but it was soon restored to premier during the second tenure of Fox in 1869.<ref name="title">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/prime-ministers-of-new-zealand/page-2|last1=McLintock|first1=Alexander Hare|title=Prime Minister: The Title 'Premier'|encyclopedia=[[An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand]]|date=1966|access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref> 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".<ref name="title"/>

Initially, premiers acted as mere advisers to the governor—with the governor at times a very active partner. This began to change during the first tenure of Edward Stafford. Stafford met with his ministers and made decisions outside of the [[Executive Council of New Zealand|Executive Council]] (which was chaired by the governor), thus establishing the modern convention of [[cabinet government]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=Edward |last=Bohan |title=Edward Stafford, New Zealand's first statesman|place = [[Christchurch]], New Zealand |publisher=Hazard Press |year=1994 |isbn=0-908790-67-8 }}</ref> Stafford also clashed with the governor over control of [[Māori people|native]] affairs, which was eventually to fall within the premier's powers.<ref name="governors">{{citation|first=Gavin|last=McLean|title=The Governors, New Zealand Governors and Governors-General|publisher=Otago University Press|url=http://www.otago.ac.nz/press/booksauthors/2006/governors.html|isbn= 978-1-877372-25-4|date=October 2006}}</ref>

===Party leadership===
[[File:RichardSeddon1905.jpg|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.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=McClean |first1=Gavin |title=Premiers and prime ministers – Premiers, 1856–1891 |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/premiers-and-prime-ministers/page-2 |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |language=en-NZ |date=1 December 2016 |access-date=11 February 2023}}</ref> The political position of the premier was enhanced by the development of modern [[List of political parties in New Zealand|political parties]].<ref name="Johansson2013">{{cite journal |last1=Johansson |first1=Jon |title=Prime Ministers and their Parties in New Zealand |journal=Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance |date=28 March 2013 |pages=193–215 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199666423.003.0009|isbn=978-0-19-966642-3 }} Oxford University Press.</ref> Premier [[John Ballance]] organised the first formal party in New Zealand, the [[New Zealand Liberal Party|Liberal Party]], forming the [[Liberal Government of New Zealand|Liberal Government]] in 1891.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/political-parties/page-9|last1=McLintock|first1=Alexander Hare|title=The Rise of the Liberal Party|encyclopedia=[[An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand]]|date=1966|access-date=5 January 2015}}</ref> There was little real [[parliamentary opposition]] until 1909, when [[William Massey]] organised his [[Historic conservatism in New Zealand|conservative]] faction to form the [[Reform Party (New Zealand)|Reform Party]]. Thereafter political power centred on parties and their leaders.<ref name="party leadership">{{cite encyclopedia|last1=McClean |first1=Gavin |title=Premiers and prime ministers – Party leadership |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/premiers-and-prime-ministers/page-3 |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |access-date=13 June 2018|date=1 December 2016}}</ref> (Subsequent governments were led by prime ministers from the Reform, [[United Party (New Zealand)|United]], [[New Zealand Labour Party|Labour]] and [[New Zealand National|National]] parties.<ref name="Johansson2013"/>) Although not every government would have a large majority, the [[party system]] and tight control of party members by [[whip (politics)|whips]] helped heads of government to direct the passage of legislation in the House of Representatives. In 1893, the premier gained the ability to restrict the term of appointments to the [[New Zealand Legislative Council|Legislative Council]].<ref>{{citation|title=Abolition Bill|volume=289|page=642|date=1950|work=[[Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|publisher=New Zealand Parliament|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tooLAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA642|language=en}}</ref>

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 publications|New Zealand Official Yearbook]]'' of that year.<ref name="title"/>  Seddon's immediate successor, [[William Hall-Jones]], was the first to be sworn in as "prime minister", in 1906.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hall-Jones, William |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2h7/hall-jones-william |publisher=[[Dictionary of New Zealand Biography]] |access-date=27 June 2018 |date=1993}}</ref>

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 [[motion of no confidence|confidence motion]] in the House of Representatives.<ref name="trivia"/>

===Towards modern leadership===
One change brought about by the [[First World War]] was direct participation in governing the British Empire. Previously, New Zealand prime ministers had attended occasional colonial and imperial conferences, but they otherwise communicated with London through the governor (a position then appointed by the British government). In 1917, British Prime Minister [[David Lloyd George]] offered the New Zealand prime minister a seat in the [[Imperial War Cabinet]], the British Empire's wartime coordinating body. In 1919, Prime Minister William Massey signed the [[Treaty of Versailles]] on behalf of New Zealand, signalling the [[independence of New Zealand]] within the empire, although Massey downplayed the event as an ardent imperialist.<ref name="party leadership"/>

Constitutional conventions adopted in 1930, following the [[1930 Imperial Conference|Imperial Conference]] held that year, increased the domestic and international prestige of the prime minister. The [[Statute of Westminster 1931]] confirmed that Dominions had exclusive power to make their laws. New Zealand initially resisted greater autonomy and did not [[Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947|adopt the statute until 1947]]. Increasingly New Zealand began to act independently in foreign affairs. During the 1940s the prime minister's profile rose as New Zealand signed several international treaties.<ref name="party leadership"/> In 1967, [[Keith Holyoake]] became the first New Zealand prime minister to select candidates for the position of governor-general without any involvement of the British government. Holyoake advised the monarch, [[Queen Elizabeth II]], to appoint [[Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt|Sir Arthur Porritt]], the first New Zealand-born governor-general.<ref name="governors" />

[[File:John Key Helen Clark handshake.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The 37th and 38th prime ministers of New Zealand, pictured in 2009: [[John Key]] with his predecessor, [[Helen Clark]].]]
After the [[mixed-member proportional]] (MMP) system was [[electoral reform in New Zealand|introduced in 1996]], prime ministers have had to manage minority governments, although the Ward government formed in 1928 and the Forbes government formed in 1930 are two earlier minority government examples.  The Forbes-led United and Reform coalition from 1931 to 1935 was the country's first coalition government outside of wartime. The skill of MMP management was exemplified by [[Helen Clark]]'s nine years as prime minister (1999–2008), when her Labour government remained in power thanks to a range of [[confidence-and-supply]] agreements with five smaller parties.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=McLean|first1=Gavin|title=Premiers and prime ministers – Towards modern leadership|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/premiers-and-prime-ministers/page-4|encyclopedia=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |access-date=16 May 2018|date=1 December 2016}}</ref>

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 of the United Kingdom|British 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,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/honoured-new-zealanders/news/article.cfm?c_id=513&objectid=10560600|title=Titles of Dames, Knights to be restored – Key|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|date=8 March 2009}}</ref> but did not resume appointments to the Privy Council, meaning Key was styled "The Honourable". On 3 August 2010, the Queen granted the prime minister, along with the governor-general, [[Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives|speaker of the House of Representatives]] and [[Chief Justice of New Zealand|chief justice]], the style "Right Honourable" upon appointment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1008/S00014/new-rules-for-use-of-the-right-honourable.htm|title=New rules for use of the Right Honourable|publisher=The Royal Household |via=[[Scoop.co.nz]]|date=3 August 2010}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44568537|title=Ardern and Bhutto: Two different pregnancies in power|last=Khan|first=M Ilyas|date=21 June 2018|work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=22 June 2018|quote=Now that New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has hit world headlines by becoming only the second elected head of government to give birth in office, attention has naturally been drawn to the first such leader – Pakistan's late two-time Prime Minister [[Benazir Bhutto]].}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=It's a girl! Jacinda Ardern gives birth to her first child|url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/it-s-a-girl-jacinda-ardern-gives-birth-to-her-first-child.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621093641/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/06/it-s-a-girl-jacinda-ardern-gives-birth-to-her-first-child.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 June 2018|access-date= 22 June 2018 |work=[[Newshub]] |date= 21 June 2018 |quote=She is only the second world leader in history to give birth while in office. Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto gave birth to a daughter in 1990.}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Election 2020: Jacinda Ardern claims biggest Labour victory in 50 years |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300135131/election-2020-jacinda-ardern-claims-biggest-labour-victory-in-50-years |access-date=22 June 2021 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |date=17 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref>