Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand (Prime Minister of New Zealand) is the head of government of New Zealand. He is usually the leader of the party or coalition of parties in the New Zealand Parliament has the majority. Since 19 November 2008, John Key of the National Party Prime Minister.

The title "Prime Minister " first appeared officially in 1873 in connection with the introduction of the Civil List Act. Originally, the head of government was called " Colonial Secretary" or " First Minister ". 1869, the official name was officially changed to " Premier ". However, this title did not last long, as Richard Seddon unofficially the title "Prime Minister " used during his term of office in 1901 after New Zealand had leaked from the Federation of Australia. After New Zealand 1907 Dominion ( self-governing colony ) was explained exclusively "Prime Minister " ( "Minister" ) was the term used.

The Prime Minister is supported by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. His residence is Premier House in Tinakori Road in Wellington.

Duties and powers

The role of the Prime Minister is not officially defined in New Zealand and arises from conventions rather than from special legislation. Following these conventions is the Prime Minister, the head of the New Zealand Cabinet ( which in turn exists only by convention ) and assumes the role of a coordinator there.

The Prime Minister is regarded by these conventions as " primus inter pares" ( " first among equals "). Although he or she has the highest posts in the government, but is stopped to abide by all decisions of the Cabinet. The possibilities of the Prime Minister to make direct arrangements are surprisingly low; the power of the office is mainly due to other options such as:

• The ability to decide on the agenda of the Cabinet and are therefore discussed what topics
• The power to appoint and dismiss ministers. The extent to which this power may be exercised depends on the party: the Labour Party, for example, leaves important decisions largely to the caucus of the party, the Prime Minister can only decide which offices get the respective ministers. The New Zealand electoral system has the situation more difficult, as the Prime Minister may also have to coordinate with a coalition party in making its decision.
• The Prime Minister as leader of the majority party or coalition in parliament already big impact. This direct influence on the own party members may exceed the pressure exerted on the premiership influence.
• Power, which is a result to be the heart of most decision-making processes and comment on decisions of other ministers and criticize.

The Prime Minister may cause elections by asking the Governor General of New Zealand, the House of Representatives (New Zealand) dissolve. The Governor-General may refuse this request if an alternative government available. This case is however not yet occurred.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General "during the Queen 's pleasure", meaning " as the Queen of the United Kingdom popular ". However, for a long time the convention is followed that the Prime Minister must have and retain the support of the parliamentary majority. History, this meant that the Prime Minister of the parliamentary leader of the largest political party in the House is.

The Premier has indirectly also to have the opportunity to appoint and dismiss the Governor-General. According to the conventions only the prime minister has the right to advise the monarch on the appointment of the Governor General. It can thus wield considerable influence over the appointment. The Prime Minister may also recommend the Queen to dismiss the Governor-General, as long as he has the support of the House of Representatives. However, this authority has used (although three of the first governors were dismissed ), no prime minister.

In the last 50 years, the custom has developed to appoint a Deputy Prime Minister ( Deputy Prime Minister ). He is usually holder of important ministerial posts and is an acting in the absence or incapacity Office of the Prime Minister Head of Government. The Deputy Prime Minister is usually a member of the same party as the Prime Minister. In coalition governments, the item may be offered to Parliament leader of the coalition party.

The prime minister, along with his Cabinet, The Treasury ( Treasury ) and the State Services Commission is responsible for the management, coordination and monitoring of all government services.

Official history

The exact origins of the office of Prime Minister of New Zealand are controversial. The use of the words "prime minister" is already the first Parliament of New Zealand known where they were used in reference to James FitzGerald and Thomas Forsaith. FitzGerald and Forsaith had no official offices and New Zealand was still not an independent state. Therefore, both are not considered as prime minister in the true sense.

The first person who was appointed in New Zealand in a leading role was Henry Sewell, who formed a government at the beginning of the term of office of the second Parliament of New Zealand. However, his official title was Colonial Secretary ( Colonial Secretary ). His successor, William Fox has also held an official leadership position, but was not a colonial secretary. Only Frederick Weld, the sixth politicians in the leadership position, received the title "Premier". Weld's successor Edward Stafford changed the title briefly in " First Minister ", shortly after William Fox changed the title back to " Premier ". From now on, was "Premier" the usual official title. At the end of the 19th century came the term "Prime Minister " as a common alternative to Richard Seddon and used this item almost exclusively. Seddon's successor William Hall -Jones was officially appointed "prime minister". Since then, only this title was used.

Assuming Sewell as the first Prime Minister, John Key to have held the post 38 people. Some politicians was repeatedly Prime Minister. The record is shared by William Fox and Harry Atkinson, both of which were four times Prime Minister. The longest continuous tenure of 13 years had Richard Seddon. The shortest total tenure had Henry Sewell, who had a total of only 13 days in office. The shortest single term of office had Harry Atkinson, whose third term lasted only seven days. The most recent incumbent was Edward Stafford, who was at his inauguration in 1856 37 years old. The oldest Prime Minister, Walter Nash, who was 75 years old in 1957.

New Zealand is one of the few countries that already had two female heads of government and the only one in which two women nachfolgten in the office.