Prime Minister of New Zealand

Responsibilities and powers

The office of prime minister is not defined by codified laws, but by unwritten customs known as constitutional conventions which developed in Britain and were replicated in New Zealand. These conventions are for the most part founded on the underlying principle that the prime minister and fellow ministers must not lose the support (confidence) of the democratically elected component of Parliament: the House of Representatives. The Prime Minister is leader of the cabinet (itself a body existing by convention), and takes a coordinating role. The Cabinet Manual 2008 provides an outline of the prime minister's powers and responsibilities.

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.

Principal adviser to the sovereign

By constitutional convention, the prime minister holds formal power to advise the sovereign. This means that as long as the prime minister has the confidence of parliament, he or she alone may advise the Queen on:

Principal adviser to the governor-general

As head of government, the prime minister alone has the right to advise the governor-general to:

Head of government

The prime minister is regarded by convention as "first among equals". They do hold the most senior post in government, but are also required to adhere to any decisions taken by cabinet, as per the convention of cabinet collective responsibility. The actual ability of the New Zealand prime minister to give direct orders is largely limited; most of the position's power comes about through other means, such as:

Salary and perquisites

Under the Remuneration Authority Act 1977, and the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Act 2013, the prime minister's salary is determined annually by the Remuneration Authority, an independent body established by Parliament to set salaries for members of parliament and other government officials.

For the fiscal year from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017, the prime minister's salary is NZ$459,739, plus a tax-free allowance of NZ$22,229 to cover out-of-pocket official expenses such as meals, gifts, and entertainment. In addition, like all other ministers and members of parliament, the prime minister receives annual allowances for travel and lodging, as do the prime minister's spouse and children.

The prime minister's official residence is Premier House, Tinakori Road, Wellington. On appointment to office, the prime minister receives the title The Right Honourable for life.

The prime minister's governmental work is supported by the politically neutral Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The separate Private Office of the Prime Minister provides advice and support on political party matters.

History

Assuming that Sewell is counted as the first prime minister, 38 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 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 only 13 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 78 years old when he left office in 1960 (and 75 upon taking office in 1957).

New Zealand is one of a few countries in the world to have had two female heads of government, and one of only two countries to have had a female head of government directly succeed another (the other country being Sri Lanka). 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 the Colony of New Zealand in 1841, 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 origins of the office of prime minister are disputed. Use of the words "prime minister" as a descriptive term date back to the first 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 a minister of internal affairs. His successor, William Fox, was also given a formal leadership role, but was not colonial secretary. When Frederick Weld became the sixth person appointed to formal leadership, a substantive leadership title – premier–appeared. Weld's successor, Edward Stafford, briefly changed the title to first minister but it was soon restored to premier by William Fox. From that point, premier became the usual designation. Towards the end of the 1800s 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. Stafford also clashed with the governor over control of Maori affairs, which was eventually to fall within the premier's powers. 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 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 minister's powers were again expanded.

In 1967, Prime Minister Keith Holyoake advised the Queen to appoint Sir Arthur Porritt, the first New Zealand–born governor-general.

Until the premiership of Labour's Helen Clark, it was customary for senior members of the legislature, executive and judiciary – including the prime minister – to be appointed to the 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 honours system. National's John Key became prime minister in 2008 and restored the titles, but did not resume appointments to the Privy Council, meaning Key was styled "The Honourable". However, on 3 August 2010 the Queen granted the prime minister, governor-general, speaker of the House of Representatives and chief justice the style "Right Honourable" upon appointment. This decision will not affect past officeholders.

Two prime ministers who died in office were buried in mausoleums; William Massey (died 1925) in the Massey Memorial in Wellington, and Michael Joseph Savage (died 1940) in the Savage Memorial at Bastion Point in Auckland.

Living former Prime Ministers

As of March 2017, there are six living former New Zealand Prime Ministers, as seen below.

The most recent Prime Minister to die was David Lange (served 1984–1989), on 13 August 2005 aged 63.

Deputy Prime Minister

Within the last fifty years, a convention has also developed of appointing a deputy prime minister. The deputy typically holds important ministerial portfolios and, by convention, becomes interim (acting) prime minister in the absence or incapacity 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.

Lists

Below are selected lists of the thirty-eight individuals have so far held the premiership.