Preceded by Lockwood Smith Website markmitchell.co.nz Majority 12,222 Name Mark Mitchell | Political party National Party Role Politician Spouse(s) Peggy Bourne | |
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Born 22 May 1968 (age 55)
Auckland ( 1968-05-22 ) Relations Frank Gill (grandfather) Party New Zealand National Party Education Rosmini College, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Profiles | ||
10 02 16 question 5 mark mitchell to the minister of trade
Mark Patrick Mitchell (born 22 May 1968) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of the National Party.
Contents
- 10 02 16 question 5 mark mitchell to the minister of trade
- Early life
- Member of Parliament
- Personal life
- 02 11 16 question 12 mark mitchell to the minister of customs
- References
Early life
Mitchell was born on Auckland's North Shore and attended Rosmini College. He then attended the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.
He was in the New Zealand Police for thirteen years from 1989 to 2002, including time as a dog handler. After leaving the police, Mitchell worked for eight years as a private security contractor and spent time in Iraq, including the siege of the Italian-run An Nasiriyah compound in Southern Iraq by the Mahdi militia in 2004.
Member of Parliament
Mitchell was selected as the National Party's candidate for Rodney on 26 April 2011, replacing Lockwood Smith.
Mitchell voted against the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry in New Zealand.
In 2014, Nicky Hager's book Dirty Politics presented evidence which suggested that Mitchell had hired political strategist Simon Lusk during the National Party selection process for the Rodney electorate. Lusk appeared to have collaborated with blogger Cameron Slater to discredit Mitchell's opponents, particularly Brent Robinson. Mitchell strongly denies ever paying Lusk or Slater.
He served as Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee from the 2014 general election, before being appointed Minister for Land Information and Minister of Statistics in December 2016.
In 2017, Mitchell said he would not quit politics if National lose the 2017 general election.
Personal life
Mitchell has had two previous marriages, and is currently married to Peggy Bourne, who is the widow of rally driver Possum Bourne.
His grandfather was Frank Gill, a cabinet minister between 1975 and 1980.