The deputy leader of the Labour Party is the second-most senior politician within the Labour Party in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The officeholder deputises for the leader of the Labour Party at party-specific events. Unlike other political party leaders, the Labour Party's leader does not have the power to dismiss or appoint their deputy; both the leader and deputy Leader are elected. In all cases where the leadership is vacant, the deputy leader shall also serve as

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

leader until a new leadership election. When the Labour Party forms the

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

the deputy leader typically serves as deputy leader of the Opposition. Kelvin Davis is the current Deputy Leader, elected on 1 August 2017.

History

The position of deputy leader of the New Zealand Labour Party was created in 1919, three years after the party's creation. The first holder,

James McCombs James (Jimmy) McCombs (9 December 1873 – 2 August 1933) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton. Biography Early life and career McCombs was born in Treanmore, Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland, the elder child of George McCombs, ...

, was bestowed the role after he lost the draw of lots to

Harry Holland Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. Early life Holland was born at G ...

in the

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

that year. It was not until 1974 that the first deputy to have been born in New Zealand,

Bob Tizard Robert James Tizard (7 June 1924 – 28 January 2016) was a Labour politician from New Zealand. He served as the sixth deputy prime minister, the minister of Finance, minister of Health and minister of Defence. Biography Early life and career ...

. Prior to this, three deputy leaders had been born in

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, two in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and one each in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The Labour Party's longest-serving deputy leader, having served for 11 years, 4 months and 12 days between 1963 and 1974, was

Hugh Watt Hugh Watt (19 March 1912 – 4 February 1980) was a New Zealand politician who was a Labour member of Parliament and the acting prime minister of New Zealand between 31 August and 6 September 1974, following the death of Prime Minister Norma ...

. To date, a total of seven deputy leaders have gone on to become the elected leader of the Labour Party (

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Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ele ...

, Nash,

Lange Lange may refer to: People *Lange (surname), a German surname * Lange (musician) (born 1974), British DJ * Lange (Brazilian footballer) (born 1966), Brazilian footballer Companies * Lange (ski boots), a producer of ski boots used in alpine (dow ...

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...

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and Ardern). Two deputy leaders have died in office (

Skinner Skinner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Skinner (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with that surname *Skinner (profession), a person who makes a living by working with animal skins or driving mules *Skinner, a ring ...

and Hackett).

List of deputy leaders

The following is a complete list of Labour Party deputy leaders. Some deputies served concurrently as acting party leader.

Living former deputy leaders

There are seven living former deputy leaders. The most recent deputy leader to die was Sir Michael Cullen (1996-2008) on 19 August 2021.

References

{{NZ Labour Party New Zealand Labour Party New Zealand politics-related lists