Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand

New Zealand

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of New Zealand

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The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power.

Generally, the position is held by the deputy leader of the ruling party, but now that the MMP electoral system makes coalitions more likely, the role may increasingly go to the leader of a junior party. This occurred with Winston Peters, leader of New Zealand First, and Jim Anderton, leader of the Alliance.

The post of Deputy Prime Minister was established in 1949. Since then, sixteen people have held the position (one of them doing so twice). Of those people, only Holyoake, Marshall, Muldoon, Palmer, and Clark have eventually served as Prime Minister.

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