Peeni Ereatara Gladwyn Henare () is a

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers desc ...

politician who has been a member of the New Zealand parliament for the Tāmaki Makaurau Māori electorate since the 2014 general election.

Family

Henare is a great grandson of Taurekareka Henare, who held the

Northern Maori Northern Maori was one of New Zealand, New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Eastern Maori, Western Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996 New Zealand general election, 1996, with the MMP in New Ze ...

seat between and . His grandfather was James Henare, who had stood for the National Party in five elections between and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

. His father was Erima Henare, who was the head of the Māori Language Commission.

Political career

In Opposition, 2014–2017

Peeni Henare won the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate ahead of Rangi McLean of the

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

in 2014. In 2016, a member's bill submitted by Henare which aimed to ban the import of goods produced by slave labour was drawn from the ballot. The bill had been first introduced by

Maryan Street Maryan Street (born 5 April 1955) is a New Zealand unionist and former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, having been elected to parliament in the 2005 general election as a member of the New Zealand Labour Party. She served as ...

and defeated at its first reading in 2009. It was again defeated at its first reading in 2016 due to opposition from the National Party and

Act New Zealand ACT New Zealand, known simply as ACT (), is a right-wing, classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT's values are "individual freedom, personal responsibility, doing the best for our natur ...

In Government, 2017–present

During the

2017 New Zealand general election The 2017 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 23 September 2017 to determine the membership of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament. The previous parliament was elected on 20 September 2014 and was officially dissolved on 22 August 20 ...

, Henare was re-elected in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate, winning 9,396 votes. Henare was elected as a Minister outside Cabinet by the Labour Party caucus following Labour's formation of a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

with

New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Win ...

and the Greens in October 2017. He assumed the portfolio of Minister for Whānau Ora, which falls under the purview of

Te Puni Kōkiri Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK), the Ministry of Māori Development, is the principal policy advisor of the Government of New Zealand on Māori wellbeing and development. Te Puni Kōkiri was established under the Māori Development Act 1991 with responsib ...

(the Ministry for Māori Development). Following a

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in par ...

in late June 2019, Henare was appointed as Minister of Civil Defence. During the 2020 general election, Henare retained Tāmaki Makaurau, defeating the Māori Party candidate and co-leader John Tamihere and Green co-leader

Marama Davidson Marama Mere-Ana Davidson (née Paratene; born 1973) is a New Zealand politician who entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2015 as a representative of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, of which she is the female co-leader. In October 2 ...

. When the official results were released, Henare had a majority of 956, but after the Māori Party requested a recount in Tāmaki Makaurau, Henare's majority fell slightly to 927. In November 2020, Henare was announced as

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and Minister for Whānau Ora. He also assumed the health, housing and tourism associate porfolios with responsibility for Māori health and housing. In May 2022 he indicated to Labour Party President Claire Szabó that he would possibly be unwilling to recontest Tāmaki Makaurau at the Next New Zealand general election, preferring instead to contest the election as a list-only candidate. In November 2022, Henare in his capacity as Defence Minister visited Polish Minister of National Defence

Mariusz Błaszczak Mariusz Błaszczak (born 19 September 1969, in Legionowo) is a Polish politician, historian, and local government representative. Since 9 January 2018, Blaszczak has been the Minister of National Defence of Poland. On 22 June 2022 Preside ...

. He subsequently visited Ukrainian

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...

Oleksii Reznikov and paid tribute to the fallen at

The Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine The Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine ( uk, Стіна пам'яті загиблих за Україну) is the wall of the Mykhailivsky Golden-Domed Monastery along Trohsvyatitelska Street near Mykhailivska Square, Kyiv Kyi ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

. Henare's visit to Ukraine marked the first visit by a New Zealand cabinet minister since the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Henare, Peeni Living people New Zealand Labour Party MPs Government ministers of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates 21st-century New Zealand politicians Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Year of birth missing (living people) Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election New Zealand defence ministers