Leader of the New Zealand National Party

The leader of the National Party is the most-senior elected 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
Incumbent Christopher Luxon since 30 November 2021
Member of	New Zealand House of Representatives
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	Adam Hamilton
Formation	2 November 1936
Deputy	Nicola Willis

The National Party has found itself either in government (alone or with the support of other parties) or in opposition to Labour-led governments. Consequently, the leader of the National Party usually assumes the role of either the prime minister or leader of the Opposition.

The current leader of the National Party since 30 November 2021 is Christopher Luxon.

Selection

Following a general election, or when a vacancy arises, the Parliamentary Section of the National Party (also called 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.^[1]

Role

The leader organises the business of the party in Parliament and 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".^[1]

The leader becomes the National Party's candidate for prime minister in the run-up to an election,^[2] and they invariably take office as prime minister when the National Party forms a government. In 1949, party leader Sidney Holland became the first prime minister from the National Party.^[3]

List of leaders

Of the fifteen people to officially hold the leadership, nine 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 (1880–1952)		Wallace	2 November 1936	26 November 1940	4 years, 24 days	LO 1936–1940		Savage 1935–40
										Fraser 1940–49
	2	Sidney Holland (1893–1961)		Fendalton	26 November 1940	20 September 1957	16 years, 298 days	LO 1940–1949
								PM 1949–1957		himself
	3	Keith Holyoake (1904–1983)		Pahiatua	20 September 1957	7 February 1972	14 years, 140 days	PM 1957		himself
								LO 1957–1960		Nash
								PM 1960–1972		himself
	4	Jack Marshall (1912–1988)		Karori	7 February 1972	4 July 1974	2 years, 147 days	PM 1972		himself
								LO 1972–1974		Kirk 1972–74
	5	Robert Muldoon (1921–1992)		Tamaki	4 July 1974	29 November 1984	10 years, 148 days	LO 1974–1975
										Rowling 1974–75
								PM 1975–1984		himself
								LO 1984		Lange 1984–89
	6	Jim McLay (born 1945)		Birkenhead	29 November 1984	26 March 1986	1 year, 117 days	LO 1984–1986
	7	Jim Bolger (born 1935)		King Country (1972–96) Taranaki-King Country (1996–98)	26 March 1986	8 December 1997	11 years, 257 days	LO 1986–1990
										Palmer 1989–90
										Moore 1990
								PM 1990–1997		himself
	8	Jenny Shipley (born 1952)		Rakaia	8 December 1997	8 October 2001	3 years, 304 days	PM 1997–1999		herself
								LO 1999–2001		Clark
	9	Bill English (born 1961)		Clutha-Southland	8 October 2001	28 October 2003	2 years, 20 days	LO 2001–2003
	10	Don Brash (born 1940)		List MP	28 October 2003	27 November 2006	3 years, 30 days	LO 2003–2006
	11	John Key (born 1961)		Helensville	27 November 2006	12 December 2016	10 years, 15 days	LO 2006–2008
								PM 2008–2016		himself
	(9)	Bill English (born 1961)		List MP	12 December 2016	27 February 2018	1 year, 77 days	PM 2016–2017		himself
								LO 2017–2018		Ardern 2017–23
	12	Simon Bridges (born 1976)		Tauranga	27 February 2018	22 May 2020	2 years, 85 days	LO 2018–2020
	13	Todd Muller (born 1968)		Bay of Plenty	22 May 2020	14 July 2020	53 days	LO 2020
	—	Nikki Kaye[note 1] (born 1980)		Auckland Central	14 July 2020		<1 day	Acting LO[4] 2020
	14	Judith Collins (born 1959)		Papakura	14 July 2020	25 November 2021	1 year, 134 days	LO 2020–2021
	—	Shane Reti[note 1] (born 1963)		List MP	25 November 2021	30 November 2021	5 days	Acting LO[5] 2021
	15	Christopher Luxon (born 1970)		Botany	30 December 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 164 days	LO 2021–2023
										Hipkins 2023
								PM 2023–present		himself

See also

• Deputy leader of the New Zealand National Party
• Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party
• List of political parties in New Zealand

Footnotes

1. Deputy leader who assumed the role of party leader temporarily because of the resignation or removal of the incumbent leader, serving until a following leadership election.