Leader of the House (New Zealand)

In the New Zealand Parliament, the leader of the House is the government minister appointed by the prime minister to be responsible for the management of Government business in the House of Representatives. This includes determining the order in which the Government's legislative agenda will be addressed in the House. The leader of the House is also an ex officio member of the Parliamentary Service Commission.

Leader of the House
Incumbent Chris Bishop since 27 November 2023
Appointer	Governor-General of New Zealand
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Inaugural holder	David Thomson
Formation	13 December 1978
Deputy	Louise Upston

History and functions

The first leader of the House was appointed in 1978, although a similar office had existed in Australia since 1951 and another in the United Kingdom for several centuries. The responsibilities of the leader of the House were previously functions exercised by the prime minister.^[1]

The leader of the House serves three main functions:^[2]

• Moving motions for the Government that relate to House and committee procedure
• Determining the order of Government business in the House
• The primary responsibility for the Government's lawmaking programme

List of leaders of the House

The following individuals have been appointed as leader of the New Zealand House of Representatives:^[3]

Key

  National   Labour

No.		Name	Portrait	Term of Office		Prime Minister
	1	David Thomson		13 December 1978	26 July 1984		Muldoon
	2	Geoffrey Palmer		26 July 1984	24 August 1987		Lange
	3	Jonathan Hunt		24 August 1987	2 November 1990
							Palmer
							Moore
	4	Paul East		2 November 1990	27 March 1993		Bolger
	5	Don McKinnon		27 March 1993	16 December 1996
	6	Wyatt Creech		16 December 1996	31 August 1998
							Shipley
	7	Roger Sowry		31 August 1998	10 December 1999
	8	Michael Cullen		10 December 1999	19 November 2008		Clark
	9	Gerry Brownlee		19 November 2008	2 May 2017		Key
							English
	10	Simon Bridges		2 May 2017	26 October 2017
	11	Chris Hipkins		26 October 2017	25 January 2023		Ardern
	12	Grant Robertson		25 January 2023[a]	27 November 2023		Hipkins
	13	Chris Bishop		27 November 2023	Present		Luxon

1. Acting Leader of the House from 25 January until 1 February 2023.

See also

• Leader of the Legislative Council (equivalent in the New Zealand Legislative Council)