Chris Hipkins Confirmed New Zealand's Next PM

Chris Hipkins will become the party's new leader and the 41st prime minister of New Zealand, the country's ruling Labour Party said on Sunday.

A vote taken during the party's caucus meeting on Sunday, which lasted less than an hour, confirmed his election.

Following his predecessor Jacinda Ardern's unexpected resignation, the 44-year-old caucus member, minister for education, police, and public service, and leader of the house, was the only candidate.

Ardern declared on Thursday that she will leave her positions as party leader and prime minister in February and that she will not run for reelection in the Oct. 14 general election of 2023.

On Wednesday, Hipkins, 44, will take the oath of office as prime minister.

Hipkins stated his government will prioritise peace and order, rising inflation, and high property prices in addition to concentrating on domestic matters.

Hipkins, who was born in the Hutt Valley in 1978, went to Waterloo Primary School, Hutt Intermediate, and Hutt Valley Memorial College (later known as Petone College), where he served as Head Boy in 1996.

He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on politics and criminology.

Hipkins was elected to the legislature in 2008, and following the general election in 2011, he was appointed chief whip and spokesperson for internal matters for the Labour Party.

Additionally, he served as the spokesperson for Associate Education and State Services.

Hipkins was chosen by the Labour Party caucus to serve as a cabinet minister and was then appointed as the minister of education in 2017.

He was named health minister in the beginning of 2020, and a few months later, in November 2020, Hipkins was also named minister of education, minister of public service, and minister in charge of the COVID-19 response.

He was named police minister in June 2022.