NOTE: New Zealand does not have a president. Instead, it has a Prime Minister, who is the head of government. However, here is a list of all the prime ministers to ever served New Zealand from 1869 till date:
READ ALSO: List Of All Presidents Of Zambia (1964-Present)
No. | Prime Minister | Terms | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Henry Sewell | 1856 | Independent |
2 | William Fox | 1856-1861; 1861-1862; 1869-1872; 1873 | Independent |
3 | Edward William Stafford | 1856-1861; 1865-1869; 1872 | Independent |
4 | Alfred Domett | 1862-1863 | Independent |
5 | Frederick Whitaker | 1863-1864; 1882-1883 | Independent |
6 | Frederick Aloysius Weld | 1864-1865 | Independent |
7 | George Marsden Waterhouse | 1872-1873 | Independent |
8 | Julius Vogel | 1873-1875; 1876 | Independent |
9 | Daniel Pollen | 1875-1876 | Independent |
10 | Harry Atkinson | 1876-1877; 1883-1884; 1887-1991 | Independent |
11 | Sir George Grey | 1877-1879 | Independent |
12 | John Hall | 1879-1882 | Independent |
13 | Robert Stout | 1884-1887 | Independent |
14 | John Ballance | 1891-1893 | Liberal |
15 | Richard John Seddon | 1893-1906 | Liberal |
16 | Joseph Ward | 1906-1912 | Liberal/National |
17 | William Ferguson Massey | 1912-1925 | Reform |
18 | Joseph Gordon Coates | 1925-1928 | Reform |
19 | Sir Joseph Ward | 1928-1930 | Liberal/National |
20 | George William Forbes | 1930-1935 | United |
21 | Michael Joseph Savage | 1935-1940 | Labour |
22 | Peter Fraser | 1940-1949 | Labour |
23 | Sidney Holland | 1949-1957 | National |
24 | Walter Nash | 1957-1960 | Labour |
25 | Keith Jacka Holyoake | 1960-1972 | National |
26 | John Marshall | 1972 | National |
27 | Norman E. Kirk | 1972-1974 | Labour |
28 | Wallace Edward Rowling | 1974-1975 | Labour |
29 | Robert Muldoon | 1975-1984 | National |
30 | David Lange | 1984-1989 | Labour |
31 | Geoffrey Palmer | 1989-1990 | Labour |
32 | Mike Moore | 1990 | Labour |
33 | James Bolger | 1990-1997 | National |
34 | Jennifer Shipley | 1997-1999 | National |
35 | Helen Clark | 1999-2008 | Labour |
36 | John Key | 2008-2016 | National |
37 | Bill English | 2016-2017 | National |
38 | Jacinda Ardern | 2017-2023 | Labour |
39 | Chris Hipkins | 2023 | Labour |
40 | Christopher Luxon | 2023-present | National |
New Zealand’s Youngest Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern is known as the youngest Prime Minister of New Zealand. She became Prime Minister on October 26, 2017, when she was just 37 years old.
This made her the youngest person ever to hold this position in New Zealand. At the time, she was also the world’s youngest female head of government.
Jacinda Ardern was born on July 26, 1980, in Hamilton, New Zealand. In August 2017, just before the general election, she became the leader of the Labour Party.
During her time as Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern was known for her effective leadership during difficult times. After the tragic Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019, she showed great compassion.
She supported the Muslim community and acted quickly to change New Zealand’s gun laws to make the country safer. Her response to the COVID-19 pandemic was also widely praised for being thoughtful and strong.
Another notable moment in her career was in June 2018, when she gave birth to her daughter, Neve, while she was still in office.
She became the second elected world leader to do so. In January 2023, Jacinda Ardern announced that she was stepping down as Prime Minister.
READ ALSO: List Of Presidents Of Switzerland (2000-Present)
New Zealand Prime Minister 2024
As of 2024, the Prime Minister of New Zealand is Christopher Luxon. He became Prime Minister on November 27, 2023.
Luxon took office after his party, the National Party, won the general election held on October 14, 2023. In this election, the National Party gained 48 seats and received 38.1% of the votes.
This win allowed Luxon to form a coalition government with the ACT Party and New Zealand First. However, Luxon was the leader of the Opposition from 2021 to 2023.
He also worked for Unilever and later at Air New Zealand. Luxon represents the Botany electorate, where he won 67% of the vote in the recent election. That said, Luxon has made it clear that he wants to bring change and rebuild New Zealand.
He plans to address challenges left by the previous Labour government, and he has specific views on issues such as education and taxation.
According to him, he supports changing the guidelines for teaching about sexuality and relationships in schools, aiming to make the content age-appropriate. The next general election in New Zealand will likely be held by December 19, 2026.