Christopher John Hipkins (born 5 September 1978) is a New Zealand politician who is the prime minister of New Zealand and current leader of the New Zealand Labour Party since January 2023. He became member of Parliament (MP) for Remutaka in 2008, previously serving as the minister for the Public Service and Minister for Education from 2017 to 2023 and the minister for Health and the COVID-19 response from 2020 to 2022.
Hipkins was born and raised in the Hutt Valley in Wellington, and while at Victoria University of Wellington became heavily involved in student politics. He was elected president of VUWSA twice, in 2000 and 2001. Hipkins won the pre-selection for the typically safe Labour seat of Remutaka in the Hutt Valley in 2008, but due to the return of the National Party to governance won it by a thin margin. As Labour's education spokesperson during their nine years in opposition, Hipkins became regarded as a "cut-throat political player" and a sharp, quick-witted debater. After Jacinda Ardern led Labour to victory in the 2017 general election, Hipkins assumed multiple portfolios within the Sixth Labour Government, serving variously as minister of education, police, the public service, and leader of the House. For his perceived competence within multiple roles and responsibilities, Hipkins became regarded as Labour's "fixer".
His tenure as minister of health was widely praised, and he was central to the government's highly effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. The elimination policy became the primary focus of the 2020 election, helping Labour win in a landslide. After the victory, Hipkins took on more responsibility, serving as minister for COVID-19 response from November 2020 to June 2022. On 21 January 2023, Hipkins became the sole candidate to succeed Ardern as leader of the Labour Party after she announced her resignation. He became party leader after being elected unopposed on 22 January 2023, and was consequently appointed prime minister by the governor-general on 25 January 2023. His premiership was faced almost immediately with the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods, and then by further flooding from Cyclone Gabrielle. He led his party into the 2023 general election, with Labour losing to National.
Hipkins is often characterised ideologically as pragmatic. During his premiership he has emphasised "bread and butter" issues, such as combatting the increased cost of living. Some observers see this as a push to retain or regain the support of the centrist swing voters who abandoned National in swathes for Labour in 2020. In July 2023, Labour introduced sweeping welfare initiatives as part of that year's budget, including a $1 billion Cyclone Recovery plan, a large increase in childcare and parental leave, scrapping prescription co-payments, free public transport for under-13s (and half price for under-25s), and increasing the funding for Te Matatini tenfold.
Early life
Christopher John Hipkins was born in the Hutt Valley on 5 September 1978, the son of Doug and Rosemary Hipkins. His mother is the chief researcher for the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
Hipkins attended Waterloo Primary School in Lower Hutt and Hutt Intermediate School. He was head boy at Hutt Valley Memorial College (later known as Petone College) in 1996. He later studied at the Victoria University of Wellington, where he was student president in 2000 and 2001.
In September 1997, as a first-year student at Victoria University, Hipkins was one of dozens arrested while protesting against the Tertiary Review Green Bill at Parliament. The matter went through the courts, and 10 years later an apology and award of over $200,000 was shared among the 41 protesters. The judge ruled that despite claims by police that the protestors were violent, the protest was peaceful and there were no grounds for arrest.
Hipkins received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in political science and criminology from Victoria University of Wellington. He then worked as a policy advisor for the Industry Training Federation and as a training manager for Todd Energy in Taranaki. Hipkins also worked in Parliament as an advisor to Trevor Mallard and Helen Clark.