Winston Peters

Winston Raymond Peters PC (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician who has been the leader of New Zealand First since it was founded in 1993. He was re-elected for a fifteenth time at the 2023 general election, having previously been a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 1981, 1984 to 2008 and 2011 to 2020. Peters has served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and 25th minister of foreign affairs since November 2023.

Peters was born in Whangārei to a family of mixed Ngāti Wai and Scottish descent. He was raised in Whananaki in rural Northland before attending school in Dargaville. Widely known simply as "Winston", Peters has had a long and turbulent political career since first entering Parliament following the National Party win in the 1978 general election. Peters first served in the Cabinet as minister of Māori affairs when Jim Bolger led the National Party to victory in 1990. He was dismissed from this post in 1991 after criticising his own Government's economic, fiscal and foreign ownership policies. Leaving the National Party in 1993, Peters briefly served as an independent before founding New Zealand First, a populist party.

As leader of New Zealand First, he held the balance of power after the 1996 election and formed a coalition with the National Party, securing the positions of deputy prime minister and treasurer, the latter position created for Peters. However, the coalition dissolved in 1998 following the replacement of Bolger by Jenny Shipley as prime minister. In 1999, New Zealand First returned to opposition before entering government with Labour Party Prime Minister Helen Clark, in which Peters served as minister of foreign affairs from 2005 to 2008.

In the 2008 general election, after a funding scandal involving Peters and his party, New Zealand First failed to reach the 5% threshold. As a result, neither Peters nor New Zealand First were returned to Parliament. In the 2011 general election, New Zealand First experienced a resurgence in support, winning 6.8% of the party vote to secure eight seats in Parliament. Peters returned to Parliament and spent two terms in opposition before forming a coalition government with the Labour Party in 2017. The new prime minister Jacinda Ardern appointed Peters as deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. Peters was acting prime minister from 21 June 2018 to 2 August 2018 while Ardern was on maternity leave. He failed to be elected for a third time in the 2020 election, but staged another comeback in 2023 and is part of the Sixth National Government. After entering into a coalition agreement with National leader Christopher Luxon, Peters serves as Luxon's deputy prime minister from 27 November 2023 to 31 May 2025; he will be succeeded by David Seymour.