The Leader of the National Party is the most-senior elected politician within the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...

. Under the constitution of the party, they are required to be a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. The current leader of the National Party since 30 November 2021 is

Christopher Luxon Christopher Mark Luxon (born 19 July 1970) is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who is currently serving as leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition. He has been the Member of Parliament (M ...

Selection

Following a general election, or when a vacancy arises, the Parliamentary Section of the National Party (the

Caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

) elects a ''Leader of the Parliamentary Section'' (that is, the

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are the ...

). After receiving approval by the Board of Directors (the governing body of the Party), the Leader of the Parliamentary Section becomes the Leader of the Party.

Role

The leader organises the business of the party in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and represents the party to the general public. Within the party organisation, they must ensure political consensus; the constitution of the National Party states that the leader has "the right to attend any Party meeting or committee meeting and shall be an ex officio member of the Board". When the National Party is in

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

the leader generally becomes the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. In

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

, party leader

Sidney Holland Sir Sidney George Holland (18 October 1893 – 5 August 1961) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 25th prime minister of New Zealand from 13 December 1949 to 20 September 1957. He was instrumental in the creation and consolidation o ...

became the first prime minister from the National Party.

List of leaders

Of the fifteen people to officially hold the leadership, eight have served as prime minister. Key:

''PM'':

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

''LO'':

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Footnotes

References

{{NZ National Party New Zealand National Party New Zealand politics-related lists Political office-holders in New Zealand Lists of leaders of political parties

Selection

Role

List of leaders

See also

Footnotes

References