Prime Minister of New Zealand
| Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
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| Incumbent: John Key |
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| Style: | The Right Honourable |
| Appointed by: | Anand Satyanand as Governor-General of New Zealand |
| First : | Henry Sewell As Colonial Secretary |
| Formation: | 7 May 1856 |
| Residence: | Premier House |
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| Website: | primeminister.govt.nz |
| New Zealand | |
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The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand. Since 19 November 2008, the Prime Minister has been John Key of the National Party.
The title "Prime Minister" had made its first formal appearance in the 1873 Schedule of the Civil List Act, but originally the Prime Minister was entitled Colonial Secretary or First Minister. This was formally changed in 1869 to "Premier". However, this title too did not last, being informally changed by Richard Seddon to "Prime Minister" in 1901 during his tenure in office.[1] Following the declaration of New Zealand as a Dominion in 1907, the term "Prime Minister" has been used exclusively.
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Responsibilities and powers
The role of the Prime Minister is not formally defined, being based on constitutional convention rather than specific legislation. According to these conventions, the Prime Minister is leader of Cabinet (itself a body existing by convention), and takes a co-ordinating role.
The Prime Minister is regarded by convention as "first among equals". He or she does indeed hold the most senior post in the administration, but is also required to adhere to any decisions taken by Cabinet. The actual ability of a Prime Minister to give direct orders is surprisingly limited; most of the position's power comes about through other means, such as:
- The ability to set the Cabinet agenda, thereby controlling what issues will be discussed.
- The ability to appoint and dismiss ministers. The extent to which this power can be exercised varies between different parties; the Labour Party, for example, places most of this responsibility in the hands of the Caucus, leaving the Prime Minister only with the power to choose which portfolios a minister is given. Furthermore, the MMP electoral system has complicated this, as the Prime Minister may have to consult with another party leader.
- The influence a Prime Minister is likely to have as leader of the dominant party. These powers may give him or her more direct control over subordinates than is attached to the Prime Minister's role itself.
- The power gained simply from being central to most significant decision-making, and from being able to comment on and criticise any decisions taken by other ministers.
The Prime Minister can call elections by advising the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament. The Governor-General may reject this advice should an alternative government exist, but so far none have done so.
The post of Prime Minister is, like other ministerial positions, an appointment by the Governor-General "during the Queen's pleasure". However, the convention has long since been established that the Prime Minister must have and retain the support of a majority of Members of Parliament. Historically, this has usually meant that the Prime Minister is the parliamentary leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives.
The Prime Minister also indirectly holds the power to appoint and recall the Governor-General. By constitutional convention, only the Prime Minister has the right to tender advice to the Sovereign on nominations for the office, and so in effect the Prime Minister may appoint the Governor-General. The Prime Minister may also advise the Queen to recall (dismiss) the Governor-General, so long as the Prime Minister has the support of the House of Representatives, although this power has never been exercised by a Prime Minister in New Zealand. Three Governors were recalled during the colonial period, but on the advice of British ministers.
Within the last fifty years, a convention has also developed of appointing a Deputy Prime Minister. The Deputy typically holds important ministerial portfolios and becomes Acting Prime Minister in the absence or incapacitation 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 support party may be offered the post.
Privileges
The Prime Minister is supported by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, their official residence is Premier House, Tinakori Road, Wellington.
The Prime Minister's salary and annuities are determined by the Remuneration Authority, under the Civil List Act 1979.
History
Assuming that Sewell is counted as the first Prime Minister, thirty-eight people have held the office since it was established. Some of these people have held it on several different 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 thirteen 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 only thirteen days (the shortest term actually belonged to Harry Atkinson, whose third term lasted only seven days, but Atkinson served longer than Sewell in total). The youngest to hold office was Edward Stafford, who was 37 years old when he became Premier in 1856. The oldest was Walter Nash, who was 75 years old in 1957.
New Zealand is also one of the few countries in the world to have had two female heads of government, and one of only two countries to have two female heads of government directly succeed the other. The first female New Zealand Prime Minister was Jenny Shipley, who replaced Prime Minister Jim Bolger in mid-1997. She was succeeded by the next Prime Minister, Helen Clark, in 1999.
Colony
On becoming a British Colony in 1840, New Zealand was directly governed by a Governor, appointed by the Colonial Office. Self-government was established in 1853, following the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, and the 1st Parliament met on 24 May 1854.
The exact origins of the office of Prime Minister are disputed. Use of the words "prime minister" as a descriptive term date back to the 1st 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-rule. As such, they are not usually considered Prime Ministers in any substantive sense.
The first person to be formally appointed to a position of leadership was Henry Sewell, who formed a government at the beginning of the Second Parliament. Despite his formal leadership role, however, his only actual title was Colonial Secretary, a position comparable to the Minister of Internal Affairs. His successor, William Fox, was also given a formal leadership role, but was not Colonial Secretary. It was not until Frederick Weld, the sixth person appointed to formal leadership, that a substantive leadership title – Premier–appeared. Weld's successor, Edward Stafford, briefly changed the title to First Minister but it was soon afterwards restored to Premier by William Fox. From that point, Premier became the usual designation. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the term Prime Minister arose as a common alternative to Premier and Richard Seddon used the title almost exclusively. Seddon's successor, William Hall-Jones, was officially appointed Prime Minister rather than Premier. The title "Prime Minister" has been used ever since.
Initially, Premiers acted as advisers to the Governor. This began to change during the first tenure of Edward Stafford. Stafford met with his ministers and made decisions outside of the official Executive Council, forming the New Zealand Cabinet.[2] Stafford also clashed with the Governor over control of Maori affairs, which was eventually to fall within the Premier's powers.[3] A further extension of the Premier's power came during John Ballance's tenure, 1891 - 1893. The Premier gained the ability to restrict the term of appointments to the Legislative Council of New Zealand.
Dominion and Realm
In 1907 Parliament passed a declaration declaring New Zealand as the "Dominion of New Zealand". This led to the reconstituting of the office of Governor as Governor-General, and a subsequent narrowing of that office's power. As a result, the Prime Ministers powers were again expanded.[3]
In 1967, Prime Minister Keith Holyoake advised the Queen to appoint Sir Arthur Porritt, the first New Zealand born Governor-General.[3]
Living former Prime Ministers
There are five living former prime ministers. The most recent prime minister to die was David Lange (1984–1989), on 13 August 2005.
| Name | Term of office | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|
| Geoffrey Palmer | 1989–1990 | 21 April 1942 |
| Mike Moore | 1990 | 28 January 1949 |
| Jim Bolger | 1990–1997 | 31 May 1935 |
| Jenny Shipley | 1997–1999 | 4 February 1952 |
| Helen Clark | 1999–2008 | 26 February 1950 |
See also
- List of Prime Ministers of New Zealand
- List of New Zealand Prime Ministers by term
References
- ↑ "Prime Minister: The Title "Premier"". Te Ara - An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966. http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/P/PrimeMinistersOfNewZealand/TheTitlepremier/en. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
- ↑ Bohan, Edward (1994). Edward Stafford, New Zealand's first statesman. Christchurch, New Zealand: Hazard Press. ISBN 0908790678
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Gavin McLean (October 2006), The Governors, New Zealand Governors and Governors-General, Otago University Press, ISBN 13 978 1 877372 25 4, http://www.otago.ac.nz/press/booksauthors/2006/governors.html
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