Prime Minister of New Zealand
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The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government and is the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand. Since 5 December 1999 the Prime Minister has been Helen Clark of the Labour Party.
Originally the Prime Minister was entitled "Colonial Secretary". This changed in the 1860s to being "Premier". However, this title too did not last, being finally changed to "Prime Minister" under Richard Seddon's reign
Responsibilities and powers
The role of the Prime Minister is not formally defined, being based on constitutional convention rather than specific legislation. According to these conventions, the Prime Minister is leader of Cabinet (itself a body existing by convention), and takes a coordinating role.The Prime Minister is regarded by convention as "first among equals" — he or she does indeed hold the most senior post in the administration, but is also required to adhere to any decisions taken by Cabinet. The actual ability of a Prime Minister to give direct orders is surprisingly limited — most of the position's power comes about through other means, such as:
- The ability to set the Cabinet agenda, thereby controlling what issues will be discussed.
- The ability to appoint and dismiss ministers. The extent to which this power can be exercised varies between different parties — for example, the Labour Party places most of this responsibility in the hands of the Caucus, leaving the Prime Minister only with the power to choose which portfolios a minister is given. Furthermore, the MMP electoral system has complicated this, as the Prime Minister may have to consult with another party leader.
- The influence a Prime Minister is likely to have as leader of the dominant party — these powers may give him or her more direct control over subordinates than is attached to the Prime Minister's role itself.
- The power gained simply from being central to most significant decision-making, and from being able to comment on and criticise any decisions taken by other ministers.
The post of Prime Minister is, like other ministerial positions, an appointment by the Governor-General "during the Queen's pleasure". However, the convention has long since been established that the Prime Minister must have and retain the support of a majority of Members of Parliament. Historically, this has meant that the Prime Minister is the parliamentary leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives.
The Prime Minister also indirectly holds the power to appoint and recall the Governor-General. By constitutional convention, only the Prime Minister has the right to tender advice to the Sovereign on nominations for the office, and so in effect the Prime Minister may appoint the Governor-General. The Prime Minister may also advise the Queen to recall (dismiss) the Governor-General, so long as the Prime Minister has the support of the House of Representatives, although this power has never been exercised by a Prime Minister in New Zealand (three of the first Governors were, however, recalled).
Within the last fifty years, a convention has also developed of appointing a Deputy Prime Minister. The Deputy typically holds important ministerial portfolios and becomes Acting Prime Minister in the absence or incapacitation of the Prime Minister. The Deputy is commonly a member of the same party as the Prime Minister, but not necessarily so; in coalition Governments, the parliamentary leader of a support party may be offered the post.
History of the office
The exact origins of the office of Prime Minister are disputed. Use of the words "prime minister" as a descriptive term date back to the 1st Parliament, where they are applied to James FitzGerald and Thomas Forsaith. FitzGerald and Forsaith had no official titles, however, and New Zealand had not yet obtained self-rule. As such, they are not usually considered Prime Ministers in any substantive sense.The first person to be formally appointed to a position of leadership was Henry Sewell, who formed a government at the beginning of the 2nd Parliament. Despite his formal leadership role, however, his only actual title was Colonial Secretary. His successor, William Fox, was also given a formal leadership role, but was not Colonial Secretary. It was not until Frederick Weld, the sixth person appointed to formal leadership, that a substantive leadership title—Premier—appeared. Weld's successor, Edward Stafford, briefly changed the title to First Minister but it was soon afterwards restored to Premier by William Fox. From that point, Premier became the usual designation. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the term Prime Minister arose as a common alternative to Premier and Richard Seddon used the title almost exclusively. Seddon's successor, William Hall-Jones, was officially appointed Prime Minister rather than Premier. The title Prime Minister has been used ever since.
Assuming that Sewell is counted as the first Prime Minister, thirty-seven people have held the office since it was established. Some of these people have held it on several different occasions, with the record for maximum number of times being shared between William Fox and Harry Atkinson (both of whom served four times). The longest that anyone has served in the office is thirteen years, a record set by Richard Seddon. The first holder of the office, Henry Sewell, led the country for the shortest total time; his only term lasted only thirteen days (the shortest term actually belonged to Harry Atkinson, whose third term lasted only seven days, but Atkinson served longer than Sewell in total).
New Zealand is also one of the few countries in the world to have had two female heads of government, and one of only two countries to have two females heads of government directly succeed the other.