Christopher John Hipkins 

(born 5 September 1978) is a New Zealand politician serving as the

41st prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the New Zealand Labour Party since 2023.[2][3] He has
been the member of Parliament (MP) for Remutaka since the 2008 election.
Hipkins served in opposition as Labour's education spokesperson. In the Sixth Labour Government, he
previously served as minister of education, police, the public service, and leader of the House. He
became a prominent figure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, taking on the roles
of minister of health from July to November 2020 and minister for COVID-19 response from November
2020 to June 2022.
On 21 January 2023, Hipkins became the sole candidate to succeed Jacinda Ardern as leader of the
Labour Party after she announced her resignation. He became party leader after being elected
unopposed on 22 January 2023, and was consequently appointed prime minister by the governor-
general on 25 January 2023.[4] He is expected to lead the Labour Party into the 2023 general
election. His premiership was faced almost immediately with the devastating 2023 Auckland floods.[5]

Early life[edit]
Christopher John Hipkins was born in the Hutt Valley[6] on 5 September 1978,[7][8] the son of Doug and
Rosemary Hipkins.[9] His mother is the chief researcher for the New Zealand Council for Educational
Research.[10] He attended Waterloo Primary School and Hutt Intermediate School. He was head boy at
Hutt Valley Memorial College (later known as Petone College) in 1996.[7] He later studied at the Victoria
University of Wellington,[7] where he was student president in 2000 and 2001.[11]
In September 1997, as a first-year student at the Victoria University of Wellington, Hipkins was one of
dozens arrested while protesting the Tertiary Review Green Bill at Parliament. The matter went through
the courts, and 10 years later an apology and award of over $200,000 was shared among the 41
protesters. The judge ruled that despite claims by police that the protestors were violent, the protest
was peaceful and there were no grounds for arrest.[11] Hipkins received a Bachelor of Arts with a major
in politics and criminology from the Victoria University of Wellington.[12] He then held a number of jobs,
including working as a policy advisor for the Industry Training Federation, and as a training manager
for Todd Energy in Taranaki. Hipkins also worked in Parliament as an advisor to Trevor
Mallard and Helen Clark.[13]

Political career[edit]
See also: Electoral history of Chris Hipkins

New Zealand Parliament

Lis
Years Term Electorate Party
t

2008–2011 49th Rimutaka 47 Labour

2011–2014 50th Rimutaka 30 Labour

2014–2017 51st Rimutaka 9 Labour

2017–2020 52nd Rimutaka 7 Labour

 2020–
53rd Remutaka 6 Labour
present

Hipkins in 2011

Hipkins was selected to stand in the Labour-held seat of Rimutaka (renamed Remutaka in 2020) in
the 2008 general election, following the retirement of the sitting MP Paul Swain. He contested the
Labour selection over trade unionist Paul Chalmers, who had Swain's support. His selection was part of
Prime Minister Helen Clark's intention to rejuvenate the party with 29-year-old Hipkins winning against
the 54-year-old Chalmers.[14] In his first election, Hipkins won the seat with a majority of 753 and
comfortably retained the electorate on each subsequent attempt.[15][16][17][18] In the 2020 general election,
he had the highest majority of any successful candidate other than Ardern.[19]

In Opposition, 2008–2017[edit]
For the first nine years of Hipkins' parliamentary career, Labour formed the Official Opposition. In his
first term, Hipkins was the Labour spokesperson for internal affairs and a member of parliamentary
committees for government administration, local government and environment, and transport and
infrastructure.[20] In May 2010, his Electricity (Renewable Preference) Amendment Bill was drawn from
the member's ballot.[21] The bill would have reinstated an ban on the thermal generation of electricity
which had been imposed by the previous Labour Government in September 2008 before being
repealed by the incoming National Government in December 2008,[22] but was defeated at its first
reading in June.[21]
In Hipkins' second term, he was promoted into Labour's shadow Cabinet as spokesperson for state
services and education under new leader, David Shearer. He also became the Labour Party's chief
whip for the first time.[20] As education spokesperson, Hipkins was outspoken in his opposition to the
National Government's implementation of charter schools in New Zealand[23] and closure of schools in
Christchurch following the destructive 2011 earthquake.[24] He continued as education spokesperson
under subsequent leaders David Cunliffe, Andrew Little and Ardern.[20] Under Little and Ardern, Hipkins
was additionally shadow leader of the House.[20]
In April 2013, Hipkins voted in favour of the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, which
legalised same-sex marriage in New Zealand.[25] In late 2015, Hipkins received veiled threats, including
a death threat, for voicing his concerns about a billboard advertising "cut-price" guns.[26]
In April 2016, his Education (Charter Schools Abolition) Amendment Bill was drawn from the members'
ballot. It was defeated at its first reading in November.[27]

In Government, 2017–present[edit]
As a senior Labour MP, Hipkins was a key figure in the Sixth Labour Government. Between 2017 and
2023, he was the sixth-ranked Government minister from the Labour Party and he was assigned
responsibilities as minister of education, minister for the public service and leader of the House. He was
later looked upon as a "fixer,"[28] and was given additional responsibility as minister of health and
minister for COVID-19 response during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, and later as minister
of police during a spate of ram-raids.[29][30][31] He emerged as the Labour Party's "consensus candidate" in
a January 2023 leadership election triggered by the retirement of Ardern.[32]
First term (2017–2020)[edit]
Hipkins was elected as a Cabinet minister by the Labour Party caucus following the formation of
a Labour–New Zealand First coalition government supported by the Greens.[33] It was later announced
that he would serve as minister for education.[34]

Hipkins at the NZEI strike rally outside Parliament House, 15 August 2018

As education minister, Hipkins has supported the abolition of National Standards and charter schools in
New Zealand, which were supported by the previous National Government. He has also signaled a
review of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) high school certificate system.
However, Hipkins has clarified that the Ministry of Education would continue to fund the University of
Otago's National Monitoring Study of Student Achievement and the Progress and Consistency Tool
(PaCT). The Government's announcement that it would close charter schools drew criticism from the
opposition National and ACT parties.[35][36] In early 2018, Hipkins introduced legislation preventing the
creation of new charter schools, while enabling existing charter schools to be converted into special
character schools.[37] By September 2018, all twelve charter schools had successfully transitioned to
become state-integrated and special character schools.[38][39]
In December 2018, Hipkins rejected a recommendation by the Council of Victoria University of
Wellington to rename the university "University of Wellington", citing the strong opposition to the name
change from staff, students, and alumni. Hipkins said that "he was not convinced the university had
sufficiently engaged with stakeholders, who should have their views considered."[40][41]
In February 2019, Hipkins proposed merging the country's 16 polytechnics into a New Zealand Institute
of Skills and Technology to counter deficits and declining domestic enrolments. This proposed Institute
of Skills and Technology will also take over the country's vocational and apprenticeship programmes.
While the Tertiary Education Union, Employers and Manufacturers Union, and the Canterbury
Employers' Chamber of Commerce have expressed support for the Government's proposal, this has
been criticised by the opposition National Party, Southern Institute of Technology CEO Penny
Simmonds, and Mayor of Invercargill Tim Shadbolt.[42][43][44][45] In response to the Christchurch mosque
shootings, Hipkins extended the polytechnic submission timeframe to 5 April 2019.[46]
In early May 2019, Hipkins announced that the Government would be investing NZ$95 million to train
2,400 new teacher trainees through increased scholarships and placements, new employment-based
teacher education programmes, and iwi-based scholarships over the next four years to address the
teaching shortage. These measures were criticised as inadequate by the Post Primary Teachers'
Association and National Party education spokesperson Nikki Kaye.[47][48][49]
On 1 August 2019, Hipkins reaffirmed the Government's plan to merge all polytechnics into a single
entity in April 2020.[50] In addition, he announced that the Government would replace all 11 industrial
training organisations (ITOs) with between four and seven workforce development councils that would
be set up by 2022 to influence vocational education and training. While polytechnics have been
cautiously optimistic about the changes despite concerns about losing their autonomy, ITOs and
National's tertiary education spokesperson Shane Reti have opposed these changes, claiming they
would damage the vocational training system and cause job losses.[51][52][53] By 2022, the merger began to
strike difficulties including low enrolments, large deficits and resignations of senior staff.[54]
Following the resignation of David Clark as minister of health on 2 July 2020, Prime Minister Ardern
appointed Hipkins as interim health minister, serving until the October 2020 general election.[29][55]
Second term (2020–2023)[edit]
In early November 2020, Hipkins retained his education portfolio. He was also designated as minister
for COVID-19 response and minister for the Public Service.[30]
On 31 January 2022, Hipkins, in his capacity as minister for COVID-19 response, issued a statement
that the Government had offered stranded New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis a place under the
emergency allocation criteria to travel to New Zealand within a period of 14 days. However, he also
claimed that Bellis had indicated that she did not intend to travel until late February and that MIQ had
advised her to consider moving her travel plans forward. He also confirmed that New Zealand consular
assistance had earlier twice offered to help her return from Afghanistan in December 2021. Bellis was
an Al Jazeera journalist who had left Qatar after becoming pregnant due to the Gulf State's law
criminalising unmarried pregnancies. Bellis had travelled to Afghanistan where she and her partner had
visas allowing them to live there. Due to New Zealand's strict pandemic border policies, Bellis had
struggled to secure a place in the Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) system.[56]
Hipkins was criticised by Bellis' lawyer Tudor Clee for allegedly breaching her client's privacy by sharing
personal details about her circumstances and indicated that she was considering "legal options." In
response, Bellis stated that she did not give Hipkins consent to share her information and disputed the
facts in his statement. MPs Chris Bishop and David Seymour, from National and ACT respectively, also
criticised Hipkins' actions, stating that they were "unbecoming" of a minister of the Crown.[57] On 22 June
2022, Hipkins publicly apologised for releasing personal information without Bellis' consent and making
inaccurate comments about Bellis travelling to Afghanistan and being offered consular assistance. As a
result, Bellis and her partner Jim Huylebroek received online abuse. Hipkins had earlier privately
apologised to Bellis in mid-March 2022.[58]
In a June 2022 reshuffle, Hipkins was shifted from his COVID-19 response portfolio and replaced Poto
Williams as minister of police.[31]
In September 2022, Hipkins apologised to former Finance Minister Bill English for suggesting that he
had granted his brothers favourable government contracts. Hipkins had made those remarks during an
exchange over the awarding of government contracts to Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta's husband
Gannin Ormsby.[59]
Prime minister (2023–present)[edit]

Hipkins (right) and Carmel Sepuloni (left), after being sworn in as prime minister and deputy prime minister,
respectively, by the governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro, at Government House, Wellington, on 25 January 2023

Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation as leader of the Labour Party in a media conference on 19
January 2023, stating that she no longer had sufficient energy for the demands of the role. She
indicated that she will formally step down no later than 7 February 2023.[60][61]
Hipkins was confirmed as the only nominee shortly after nominations closed at 9:00 a.m. on 21
January.[32][62] Stuff reported that Kiritapu Allan, the East Coast MP and minister of justice who had been
speculated by media as an alternative candidate, was one of the seven MPs who nominated him.
[63]
 Hipkins had previously demurred when asked about his leadership aspirations, stating that he would
support whichever candidate the Labour Party could "reach a consensus" on.[64] In a media standup
outside Parliament at 1:00 p.m. on 21 January, Hipkins commented that he discovered he had emerged
as that consensus candidate as "the door to the plane [that he had boarded for a flight to Wellington]
was closing", leaving him unable to respond to his messages for 40 minutes.[65] The formal meeting to
confirm Hipkins as leader was scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on 22 January 2023.[61]
Hipkins was sworn in as prime minister by Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro on 25 January 2023.
[66]
 His deputy prime minister is Carmel Sepuloni, the first Pasifika to hold the position.[4] Upon taking
office, Hipkins addressed the cost of living, saying that New Zealanders will “absolutely see in the
coming weeks and months the cost of living is right at the heart of our work program”, and declared it
his “absolute priority”. He indicated that Labour would postpone some of its new projects until after the
election to focus on the economy.[67] In response, several small business owners including Kiwi
Kai business owner Reni Gargiulo, Air Milford CEO Hank Sproull, Christchurch pharmacy owner
Annabel Turley, Saint Andrews Dairy Dhaval Amin, and Grownup Donuts owner Daniel Black called on
Hipkins' Government to address various issues including staffing shortages, immigration work visa
policies, youth crime, and inflation. In addition, Ashburton dairy farmer Nick Gier called on the
Government to scrap the Three Waters reform programme and carbon emissions taxes on the
agricultural sector.[68]
Hipkins was faced almost immediately with the 2023 Auckland floods. The flash flooding began on 27
January 2023, and saw an entire summer's worth of rain fall within just a day.[69]